


Episode: Sisterhood

by Sanctified_Jasper



Series: April Fic Madness [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: BS magic is BS, Canonical Character Death, Crack taken seriously?, Female Friendships abound, Gen, Massively AU, Out Of Character reactions for Plot progression, Panic Attacks, Pryna is a Good Girl, Roadtrip Fic, Screwing the timeline as coping method for small gods, Temporary Character Death, WARNING: Dissociative Episode, WARNING: women feeling and expressing emotion, because it sucked, car theft, does ANYONE actually know where Crowe died/was found?, healing items work according to in game flavour text, i needed an excuse for the phones not to work, monster hunting, playing fast and loose with just about everything, realistic map sizes and travel distance? HA!, screwing the prophecy, tomb raiding, warning: panic attack, with permission from the dead and minor deities
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2019-11-16 14:56:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 27,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18096548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sanctified_Jasper/pseuds/Sanctified_Jasper
Summary: An uncharacteristic impulse on Iris's part, may not be an uncharacteristic impulse, so much as the whim of the gods.or:Pryna decides canon was a bit shit, Iris steals a car, Crowe's day goes from 'the worst' to 'still the worst but at least she's not dead', and Luna gets a road trip posse of her own.





	1. Have Pryna, Will Travel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pryna quits canon, Iris drives a stole car, Crowe tries to do her job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For April Fools day, My Winx Blog has temporarily become a multi-fandom Blog... it was an excuse to post this hot mess, not going to lie.

_While the waters settled, and the army stopped fighting, Pryna put a paw to her human, her girl, pressing Lunafreya's shoulder to try and wake her. Pryna knew it was a futile effort, and the knowledge left her feeling hollow._

_She didn't want her human to be gone to_ the place Pryna could not follow _, she didn't want to run in the world where her girl no longer drew breath._

_The sound of soft paws through debris laden streets went unheard over the city's fading distress, until Umbra came close enough that she could feel his breath on her fur. Her brother nuzzled her, tried to get her to move, to finish their job._

_But Pryna didn't_ want _to, she didn't_ want _to watch the Astrals' plan unfurl. She knew how it would play out, knew the_ cost _of the Dawn._

_Pryna looked away from Luna's body to stare woefully at Umbra. He understood what she wanted right away, and shuffled himself closer to say goodbye._

_As the humans began to wander out of hiding, Umbra nuzzled his sister's empty form one last time, before trotting off to find his boy._

_There were things he had to see to the end, then he could find the new timeline his sister had abandoned this one for._

* * *

Iris scowled as she twisted the wheel, turning the car onto a dirt road. It wasn't fair, she'd wanted to go with Gladdy and the others to Altissia, but her father had insisted the boys go alone.

'It isn't fair,' she fumed, her foot sinking further on the accelerator, racing across the worn earth faster than advisable. 'I never get to go on any of their road trips, even Prompto gets to go and he's-' Iris cut herself off, instantly ashamed. Prompto was a nice boy, if very awkward and untrained.

The young woman, still more of a girl, let out a growl as she shook her head, berating herself for her thoughts and actions. She took her foot from the pedal, letting the car decelerate on its own, before a flash of motion on the road had her slamming her foot on the brake.

The very expensive, very _borrowed_ car slid for far too many metres before coming to a halt with a plume of dust blooming up behind her; Iris sat stock still, pale and shaking behind the steering wheel.

“Rarf!” A dog's head appeared, followed by its upper body as the canine stood, bracing its front paws on the car's hood.

“...Hey! I know _you_!” and she did, “Pryna?! Why are you here?” Iris tugged on the handbrake, settled the car into neutral and stepped out of the vehicle. Pryna dropped back to all fours as Iris made her way around the front of the car, the dog pranced backwards and away from the girl as she closed in.

Iris stopped.

Pryna stopped.

Iris stepped forwards.

Pryna stepped away.

“Do... do you need me to follow you?” Iris asked, uncertain. Pryna's bark seemed to be a 'yes' sort of bark. “Okay, show me where to go.” Pryna looked back at the car, then at Iris, then at the car again. Taking the hint, Iris slid back into the driver's seat, shifting back into gear as the dog took off at a run.

Iris had _borrowed_ the car from the royal garage on an impulse, angry at not being allowed to go with Noct and the others. 'But maybe,' Iris thought as she followed Pryna, 'it wasn't an out of character impulse at all.'

Pryna lead her north to a scrap yard, where Iris had to leave the vehicle behind, winding her way through the junk on foot. In the distance she saw a van driving away. Pryna began digging into a pile of twisted metal, a few dozen flies swarming the mound. The canine gave a quite bark Iris took to mean 'this is what we're here for, come and help.'

Lifting the scrap away, Iris bit back a scream and she came face to pale face with a corpse. A familiar looking corpse. Clearing the debris from the body, Iris cringed at what was an obvious bullet wound in the stomach area, trying to figure out how she knew the dead woman.

But Pryna gave her no time, nosing at the secure pocket where Iris kept her special talisman, a gift from Noctis, from when the prince had been practising his magic. With an 'oh' of understanding, Iris pulled the phoenix feather from her pocket and pressed it against the dead woman's body.

Iris had only a second to register the body's warmth, before the woman jolted back to life screaming. Iris screamed in response, her body unmoving as she continued to press the feather against the woman's form, making sure all the magic was used up, just in case.

The woman took a wild, half-hearted swing as her surrounds came into focus.

“You're,” her words trailed off, “we've been betrayed!”

“What?!” Iris scrambled to help the woman stand.

The woman wavered but fixed Iris with an intense look, “my name is Crowe, I'm a Glaive, I was sent to fetch the Oracle, but I was shot... by a fellow Glaive, I have to get back to Insomnia, to warn the captain, we've been betrayed.”

Crowe doubled over, her face scrunched as a sharp stab of phantom pain lanced through her.

Iris clung to one of her arms to keep the Glaive upright.

“My car's just over there,” she turned the older woman in the direction of the vehicle. “Pryna!” Scanning the scrap yard, Iris's brow furrowed, “where'd she go?”

“Who?”

“Pryna.”

“...who?”

“She's a dog, or a divine messenger or... something, it's kind of unclear, but she was just here, she lead me to you.”

“Did she bring me back from the dead too?”

Iris grinned and shook her head, “nope, that was all me, well, not _all_ me, I had a phoenix feather from prince Noctis, it brought you back. But I suppose, I don't think you've been dead for very long, otherwise it wouldn't have worked.”

“...great...” Crowe shuddered, letting Iris help her through the junk piles and over to the car. “Nice ride.”

“Thanks, it belongs to the royal family.” Crowe raised an eyebrow, then winced as Iris helped her into the passenger seat, “hold on, let me see if there's any potions.”

As the younger female checked the medical kit in the boot for potions, Crowe asked “what are you doing out here with a car belonging to the royal family?”

“Oh, right, I guess I should introduce myself,” Iris said, “I'm Iris Amicitia, my dad is the Shield of the King. I... _may_ have borrowed Ekleípō without asking, and run away for a few hours...” Iris admitted before letting out an 'aha' as she found the only potion in the supplies. She closed the trunk with a thump, jumped the door into the driver's seat and handed Crowe the bottle of magically saturated energy drink. “Here, this should help, although from what I understand, you shouldn't be feeling any pain from your death at all.”

“Is that an energy drink?”

“It's magically enhanced with healing magic, courtesy of the prince. He made a whole bunch when he was practising.” Iris pulled the car around, and drove as fast as she dared, trying to remember which way she'd come.

In the passenger seat, Crowe quietly sipped the potion, too worried about the traitorous Glaives in Insomnia, to bother with the way the girl had spoken so casually about such a difficult branch of magic.

* * *

They were only a few hours from Insomnia – how had Iris driven so far without realising? - which wasn't much by car.

Iris and Crowe shared horrified looks when they ran out of fuel, the car spluttered to a stop where Iris managed to steer it to the roadside.

“Oh come on!” She smacked her hands on the wheel, frustrated that she hadn't kept an eye on the gauges.

“I have a bar!” beside her, Crowe was holding both of their phones, and looking much better than she had earlier. Colour had returned to her face, and pain had stopped lancing through her at every breath.

“That's great, but will it be enough to get a clear line?” Iris asked, unsure how well the signal would carry with such low reception. She'd never been out into areas with such poor mobile phone coverage before, even when camping with her father and brother.

“No, we might get through, but it'll be largely static, I can try sending a text to Libertus and Nyx, but we'll need at least another bar to get clear conversation.” Crowe typed out a simple 'betrayed' and hit send, watching the phone attempting to send on such a weak signal. Iris watched the Glaive, as the woman seemed to will the text to make it through.

The phone dinged.

“Yes!” Crowe's whole body relaxed a fraction.

Iris smiled, then frowned, “why not send a bigger message, tell them who shot you?”

“The less data the phone has to send, the better its chances of getting the message through. I can try sending more information, but for now,” Crowe looked up at the darkening sky and winced, “we'd be better getting ourselves to a Haven or a settlement, and trying to find better reception in the morning.”

A barked echoed through the air, drawing their attention far off the road. A few dozen metres away sat Pryna, clearly waiting. The women shared a look and shrugged, exiting the vehicle.

“Let me grab the blankets from the boot,” Iris said before Crowe could go too far.

“Anything else in there that might help?”

“Uhm... Medical kit, a few bottles of water, protein bars and... aha! Matches!”

“Damn, that's lucky.” Crowe reached out to take one of the blankets, opening, folding and twisting it into makeshift sack for the water and food.

“All the cars have this sort of stuff, dad always said it was 'in case of emergency,' but I never really thought about it. Guess it is lucky.” Pocketing the keys, Iris gave the Ekleípō a final glance, mentally praying the car would still be there, and in one piece, come morning.

As the duo followed Pryna along, going at a light jog, Iris spotted something against the odd colour of the dusk sky. “Is that smoke?”

“Yep, Haven smoke, looks like we ran out of fuel in the right place.”

“Where are we anyway?” Iris asked, wincing when Crowe gave her a look of disbelief, “I wasn't... exactly paying attention to where I was going earlier.”

“Then how do you know you were going in the right direction back to Insomnia?” Crowe did a thing with her eyebrows that made Iris feel very judged.

“I was going in a sort of... general reverse direction to the one I came from?”

“Right,” Crowe shook her head, bemused by the girl's abashed tone. “Well, good news is we're still in Leide-”

“Oh yay,” Iris says happily.

“- in the Three Valleys area, so this,” Crowe says as she pointed to the Haven the duo have just reached, “should be Merrioth, if I remember my maps correctly.”

“Merrioth,” Iris repeats, testing the name, “so, are there any rest stops or service stations on those maps you might remember?”

“Hammerhead, it should be just the other side of this,” Crowe waved at the rocky mound beside the Haven, “and a hour or two at an easy pace. We should head out as soon as the demons disappear though, it'll help us avoid the heat, and we're kind of in a hurry.”

Iris paused, her eyes sliding down and away from Crowe.

“What's wrong?” Crowe reached out for her.

“Would you be able to make it to Hammerhead tonight if I weren't here to slow you down?”

Crowe didn't answer right away, she knew what this is, she's seen sudden self doubt before.

“I'd still be dead in a scrapheap if you weren't here,” Crowe tilted Iris's face back to face her own, “I was dead a short while ago, I have my dagger and my magic, but I'm not stupid enough to think I could take on an Iron Giant if one decides to show up, never mind the risk of putting my foot in a shallow dip only for it to be an actual hole, hiding in the dark.”

Crowe thought she should maybe hug the uncertain young woman before her.

She helped Iris set up their blankets instead.

“If you need to pee you'd better do it soon, we're just about out of time.” In the distance a faint groan of an emerging demon echoed through the Three Valleys area.


	2. Miss and Hit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> camping without equipment is a crappy idea, missing your brother by not much sucks, but at least the mechanic is nice.

In the early dawn light, two women (one young enough to still be called a girl) groaned awake, letting their displeasure be known to the still chilly air of the retreating desert night, pushing back their few blankets, and disentangling themselves from each other.

Once the true cold of night had hit them, they'd deemed it best to share body heat, which was far more successful once Pryna had joined them.

“Urgh,” Iris scrunched her face at the Haven's rune covered surface, “safe, but not comfortable.”

Crowe yawned, and made a disgruntled noise of agreement, before snatching up the lone roll of toilet paper Iris had remembered to grab from the car before they'd left it.

“Be right back,” she said, already halfway down the Haven's natural ramp.

Iris grumbled some more, dropped back into the blankets they'd used as a mattress, and turn to smoosh her face into Pryna's warm, soft side.

* * *

 

The boot of the Ekleípō thumped closed.

Since the car was north of the Haven, it wasn't too far out of their way, so the small group returned to check the car had survived the night – it had – and store their excess blankets, though Iris had kept the thinnest one out at Crowe's suggestion.

In her sleveless hoodie and pleated skirt, Iris wasn't exactly dressed for the desert.

Plus the sun had yet to chase the last of the night's chill from the air and Iris was happy to remain wrapped up for the time being.

“Come on,” Crowe said, as Pryna bagan to trot away, “time to go.”

With a final pat of the ~~stolen~~ _borrowed_ car, Iris trailed after the Glaive.

They could see Hammerhead in the distance soon after clearing the rocky area of the Three Valleys, but that didn't mean they were  _close_ , and the two women didn't take a straight path. Mostly they wavered from their path to give way to trees and, in a few cases, some clusters of reapertails.

“We could totally take them,” Iris pouted the second time Crowe took her by the elbow to skirt around the monsters.

“Yeah, we could,” Crowe stooped to pick up an odd, hooked, bulbous looking thing from the ground, “but you double-checked yourself, we have no more potions, and I don't exactly specialize in healing magic. If we get hurt out here, that's it, no one knows to come looking, Pryna's wandered off again-”

“What!?” Iris looked around, the dog had, in fact, vanished once more.

“-and we don't need to fight them, it's a waste of time and energy. If we needed the gil, that'd be one thing, but luckily for us, Luche, the fu- ahem, the murdered that he is, didn't steal much from me after he shot me.”

“Much? So he did steal something?” Iris looked at Crowe with concern.

The older woman sighed, “yeah, a present for our new princess, a golden hair comb I was supposed to deliver to the Oracle when I picked her up.”

“Why would he steal that? Is it valuable?”

Crowe shrugged, “probably, but it would be hard to fence and easy to track if he did. He might be an arrogant arse, but he's not  _that_ stupid.”

The duo walked in silence for a time, contemplating the strangely selective theft, when Iris piped up with another question.

“What's a gil?”

This question had Crowe actually stopping to look at the girl.

“Seriously?”

Iris flushed with embarrasment, “yeah?”

“People outside of Insomnia don't use crowns, the currency is gil. I have enough to pay for a few tanks of petrol for a bike, which should fill up the car. Maybe.”

“Oh, okay.”

A little while later, and another cluster of reapertails skirted, Crowe ducked to grab another barbed bulb. Sensing the incoming question, she held one out for Iris to take.

“Scorpion barbs, they're the stingers from reapertail's tails, they're worth a _small_ handful of gil, hunters use them for various things. They get knocked off during fights with other creatures, and if the reapertail survives long enough, they grow back. They're not under everybush, but they're not rare, even without having to harvest 'em fresh. I figured it would help with the fuel, maybe even leave us enough for a decent meal. No harm in a bit of extra gil if we're not going out of our way for it.”

Iris nodded thoughtfully, looking the barb over carefully so she knew what to keep an eye out for. As she looked up to say something more, she spotted a sleek black car leaving Hammerhead. They were still far enough away that she couldn't see clearly, but given the shock of blonde hair sitting in the front passenger seat, Iris was pretty sure that was the boys in the Regalia.

“What's wrong?” Crowe looked around in response to Iris's deep frown, but the only movement she could see was a dark car disappearing around the far edge of one of the Three Valleys' rocky outcrops.

“I... think that was Noctis and my brother but... they should have been at Galdin Quay already.”

“Maybe they stopped for some sight seeing?” Crowe didn't sound very convinced of her own explanation.

“Maybe?” Iris huffed, “I can't believe I only just missed them! I think I drove past here yesterday too!”

“You would of had to,” Crowe raised her arm to point to the intersection by Hammerhead, indicating the road beyond leading back east. “That's the only way to Insomnia on this side of the bridge gate.”

“I was _so close_!” Iris huffed before giving a chagrined chuckle, “you know the only reason I was out here was because I was mad I was mad I wasn't allowed to go with them to Altissia?”

“Lucky for me,” Crowe said, slinging an arm around Iris's shoulders, and giving the girl a light squeeze.

“OH!” Iris fished around in her pocket for her phone, “if we're this close, maybe the reception's better?”

Crowe made a noise that was the non-verbal equivalent of an 'oh yeah,' and pulled out her own phone. The reception was fairly decent, definitely enough to get a call out. She dialled Libertus's number and waited.

And waited.

'Why isn't he picking up?' Crowe waited until the call rang out, and gave her mobile a stern bitch-facing, before trying Nyx.

Who also didn't pick up.

“How'd you do?” Crowe asked, though she already knew, having listened in while she waited for one of her boys to pick up.

“Not good?” Iris looked very confused, “I could barely hear my dad, but... he told me to stay where I was, to... stay away from Insomnia? He seemed... happy to hear I was with you.”

Crowe felt ice skid down her spine, a feeling of dread that reminded her too strongly of that final waking moment before death.

She took an intentional, measured breath.

Once.

Twice.

“Well, I did send that message about being betrayed,” Crowe began, voicing her excuse slowly, trying to keep and emotion from wavering it. “I'm sure your father just wants you to keep clear while they're taking care of all of that... business.”

Iris stared at her for a long time, opening her mouth but cutting herself off before saying anything several times.

“You don't believe that,” Iris said at last.

Crowe didn't bother to lie again.

“Once we have the fuel for the car, we can start heading back towards the city, there's a Haven, just this side of the bridge, within sight of Insomnia, we can stay there and... and wait.”

Wait for what, Crowe didn't know. As the pair continued on to Hammerhead, the glaive wondered if her message had come too late or if...

Crowe wasn't sure what the 'or if'  _was_ in this situation.

* * *

 

“Well howdy there, what're you two ladies doing out in the desert?” The young woman who greeted them as they near the fuel pumps was cheerful, had a heavy accent Iris has never heard before, and most strangely, was wearing a pink bikini under her jean shorts and jacket.

She must have understood Iris's confusion over the outfit from the look unwittingly plastered across her face, and with an embarrassed chuckle, explained.

“Some weeks we have so many cars come through there ain't much time for laundry, yesterday was supposed to be emergency laundry day but... well, today is emergency laundry day. Wouldn't be so bad, but I' bin told to stop borrowin' clothes from the store on emergency day.”

“Sounds like a hassle,” Crowe said, her tone sounded bemused.

The cheerful blonde woman shrugged one shoulder, “ain't so bad when you consider the men ain't paying enough attention to the price to bother haggling... most of the time.”

Crowe snorted, and got around to answer the woman's original question.

“We were on our way to Insomnia when our car ran out of fuel, you got fuel containers for sale around here?”

“Sure do! But if you want to save some time, I can tow you in,” Crowe and the woman shared a look, and began haggling. Iris watched with interest as the two came to an agreement, seemingly 20 gil off the normal towing price. Iris thought that was kind of impressive, but since the blonde woman managed to talk Crowe into letting her give the car a once over for damage, the price of the tow, the fuel and added services still ended up around three hundred gil, more if the car needed actual work done.

The two women smirked at each other in a friendly way, like two warriors acknowledging a worthy opponent. Crowe volunteered Iris to go with the woman, who finally introduced herself as Cindy, to retrieve the Ekleípō, while Crowe saw about padding their funds.


	3. choice and consequence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pryna goes shopping, Crowe goes hunting, Iris receives a lost truth about her stolen car

Crowe had sold the two scorpion barbs they'd found on the walk over, and by her calculations, if the car didn't need repairs, they'd have a _small_ pile of gil left over for supplies.

She stepped into the store with the intention of buying a proper bed roll and some food, when she spotted Pryna. The magical vanishing dog was seated by a pile of fuel canisters, clearly waiting for Crowe.

“We don't need those,” Crowe told the dog, feeling a little silly. She'd honestly seen weirder than this dog, but that didn't make her feel not-silly. Pryna let out a disagreeing 'whoof', and took one of the canister's handles in her mouth, carrying it over to the store counter where she put it down before going back for another one.

“No, Pryna,” Crowe tried again, “we can get to Insomnia on a single, full tank of fuel, we don't need the canisters.” This time, Pryna's bark seemed to be saying 'yes, actually, we do need these.'

With a sigh, Crowe relented, Iris _had_ said something baout the dog being related to the gods somehow, and Pryna _had_ led Iris to Crowe, and then the both of them to Merrioth. Seeing Pryna go back for more, Crowe stepped forward to grab two more canisters, which seemed to please the magical canine, who nodded and trotted off.

Crowe put the canisters down on the counter with an apologetic grimace, which the store clerk shrugged off. The glaive turned from the counter, and located Pryna by some supplies. Sighing again, Crowe went to join her.

The dog led her around the store, picking out things for Crowe to take to the counter, including proper camping supplies, the kind the Ekleípō didn't already have in its boot. A large tent, food, water, a single stick of dynamite, and six outfits, two in Crowe's size, two in Iris's, and two in a size that wouldn't quite fit Crowe, complete with a pair of good boots that defininately wouldn't fit Crowe.

While suspiscious, it wasn't until Pryna had Crowe select _three_ sleeping rolls that the woman finally asked: “who are you expecting us to pick up?”

Pryna gave her a doggy smile, tail wagging, like she was just pleased and proud Crowe had figured it out.

Crowe let herself sink into a crouch and covered her face with her hands, trying to adjust to the reality that she was apparently taking orders from a dog. When she finally made it back to the counter, and Pryna seemed to be out of things to buy, Crowe had to stop the clerk from running up the tally.

“Pryna,” Crowe began, “I know you think we need all of this stuff, but we cannot afford it. We don't have that much gil.”

Pryna seemed to consider this for a moment, then nudged everything to the side a little, and trotted back into the supplies section. She returned shortly with a sturdy looking backpack and rope. Placing them on the counter, Pryna made a small jump, so she could bracket the two new items with her paws, before she gave a short bark to the clerk, who swapped an uncertain look with Crowe before scanning the bag and rope.

“60 gil?” the clerk looked back and forth between the pair.

Crowe threw up her hands, “okay,” she said, pulling out their money. The 'Barbs she'd scavanged had only been worth 30 gil apiece since they weren't fresh, but it covered the bag and rope.

Once the purchase was complete, Pryna led Crowe outside again, giving her just enough time to ask the clerk to put their other things aside for when they returned.

Outside, Pryna led Crowe around the back of the garage and out into the Liede desert. They walked in a north easterly direction for what felt like a long time, Pryna occasionally darting off into the sparse scrub to bring back scorpion barbs and some sabertusk claws, which were slightly more valuable, from what the Hunter running the small stall at Hammerhead had told her.

At last, just short of the cliffs that sepparate Leide desert from the northern coastline, Crowe spotted a wide opening in the ground. As Pryna led her closer, she could hear the sounds of swishing and splashing and stomping.

The ground opened right up into a small ravene, and Crowe almost stopped breathing.

A Bandersnatch, there was a Gods-bedamned _Bandersnatch_!

While barbs were common enough, and useful for a few types of magic, Crowe had never harvested anything from a Bandersnatch before, though she'd fought a few in her time as Kingsglaive. She had no idea how much its parts would be worth, but Pryna was sitting beside her, looking from Crowe to the Bandersnatch like she was waiting to be told she was a good girl, so Crowe assumed that was why they were here.

“Okay,” Crowe whispered quietly to her, sliding the backpack to the ground and making her way to the edge of the ravene.

The monster was wading through shallow water, and Crowe didn't give it a chance to notice her, she cast ice magic, freezing the water solid. The sudden encumberance of its feet caused the Bandersnatch to topple over, and before it could right itself, Crowe let loose a barage of lightning, not letting up until the creature was still, and slightly smoking.

Crowe stepped back, feeling slightly light headed. Across the ravene, Crowe noticed a natural ramp. She picked up her bag, pulled out her last food bar, and began munching it as she and Pryna made their way down into the Bandersnatch's pond.

To be sure, before she started to hack away at the corpse, Crowe squeezed between the monster's long, tusk like appendages, and cast a large icicle straight down its throat. A small dribble of blood leaked from its mouth, but the Bandersnatch didn't otherwise react.

Crowe and Pryna got to work.

* * *

Crowe wasn't waiting when Iris and Cindy returned, Ekleípō tethered to the tow truck. After helping Cindy to get the car situated, Iris went in search of her companion, popping her head inside the store and the dinner, chatting with the different vendors in their truck stalls. No one had seen Crowe in a while.

Not since she'd 'headed around back with her dog.'

With her water bottle and final power bar, Iris made her way between the buildings, hoping the pair were alright. She cast a glance over the odds and ends that littered the back of Hammerhead, but found nothing. Iris let out a huff, almost ready to give up when she heard a bark from across the desert.

Amidst the scrub and dust she caught sight of a figure, Crowe, pulling something along behind herself. Iris took off across the hot, open terrain, keeping to a safe jog so as to not wear herself out.

“Hey kid,” Crowe huffed out, putting down her load for the time being.

“What. is. _That?_ ” Iris stared at the giant tusk like items the older woman had been pulling along.

Crowe took a few heavy breathes, and Iris tore her gaze away from the haul, handing Crowe her water bottle when she realise the glaive was parched. Crowe took a long, greatful drink, before accepting the bar Iris held out as well.

“Thanks,” Crowe tucked the unfinished bottle in the crook of her elbow as she set about opening the bar's wrapper, gesturing to the load of tusks with her head as she did, “Bandersnatch, Pryna's idea, to pay for all the things she wants us to buy.”

Iris looked at the rope Crowe had dropped, and ducked down to pick it up, “I'll help, we're pretty close to Hammerhead, I can take it the rest of the way.”

“Are you sure?” Crowe didn't mean to sound doubtful, but Iris was only fifteen, and tiny to boot.

“Yep!” Iris wrapped the ropes around her shoulders and chest and began pulling. After some intitial resistance, the load began sliding along.

It got harder when they reached Hammerhead proper, and the dirt, which had just enough give to accomodate the slide without bogging the Bandersnatch parts down, gave way to concrete and bitumen, which put up more resistance and caused the parts to scrape across the harder surface.

Crowe had Iris wait just past the corner of the store, while she went inside to speak with the store clerk.

Through the window, Iris could see Crowe negotiating with the clerk, but her attention drifted as she waited, and her gaze found its way across the open area to the front of the garage. Cindy was doing something under the hood of the Ekleípō, while an old man stood nearby, looking at the car with a heavy sadness.

As if he sensed her watching him, the old man turned to her, their eyes meeting. Iris smiled and waved at him, and the old man gave a small smile back, before tipping the brim of his cap to her, and wandering back inside the garage.

Cindy noticed his departure and turned to watch him go, with a confused frown, she looked around and her eyes caught on Iris. At Cindy's questioning look, Iris shrugged and shook her head. Cindy shrugged in turn and went back to her task.

“Hey,” Crowe's voice startled her as the glaive exited the store, “you alright?”

“Yep,” Iris smiled, “how'd it go?” She tilted her head towards the store to indicate what she'd meant.

“Good, he'll take care of this,” Crowe waved at the monster parts, “in just a moment. We've got enough to cover all the things Pryna wants us to buy, and the car, and we have more than enough for lunch.”

“Yay lunch!” Iris cheered. Crowe gave the girl a bemused smile.

* * *

Takka, the chef in charge of the diner, watched the pair with an indulgent smile as Iris devoured her second plate of Leiden Jambalya, for such a petite thing, she sure could pack it away.

Crowe on the other hand had pushed her empty Jambalya plate away and was steadily working through her bowl of Chilli con Carne.

He gave Cindy a welcoming nod as she entered the diner, the young woman giving him a grin in response as she made her way over to Crowe and Iris.

“Good news,” the blonde said as she slid into the booth with the other two, “car's all done, and all cheap too, I changed the oil, topped some fluids, but the car itself was in amazing shape.”

“That's good,” Crowe said between spoonfuls, “we'll pay up after lucnch and head out.”

Iris nodded in agreement, but Cindy frowned.

“You two gonna make it back to Insomnia before dark?”

Crowe shook her head, “we won't quite make it, but we're head for Cyalos Haven, it's just on the other side of the bridge, close enough to reach before dark.”

“If you're sure,” Cindy sounded worried, “'cause y'all could just rent the caravan here tonight, or Cotisse is just up the trail.” Cindy pointed to the back of the diner, trying to indicate the Haven to the north.

“Thanks,” Crowe said, “but we need to get back. Don't worry, we'll be alright.” Cindy looked set to argue, but at the looks on Crowe and Iris's faces, relented.

“Alright then,” Cindy shook herself, plastering on a smile both of the other women could tell was fake. “By the way, paw-paw wanted to talk to you both before you leave.”

* * *

The trio of women made their way across the parking lot to the garage, two plates and drinks carried between them fro Cid and Cindy's lunch. The old man was standing by the Ekleípō again, the same heavy sadness in his weary frame.

“Paw-paw,” Cindy called out as they drew close, “I brought the ladies ovey to say hi.”

“Hello,” Iris said, and Crowe follwed with a nod and a 'sir'.

“Do you know who this car belongs to?” Cid asked, but before Iris could answer, he clarified, “who it _used_ to belong to?”

Iris thought for a minute, but shook her head. She'd just assumed it was one of several cars owned by the Lucis Caelum family. The only thing special about it was that it had always been her favourite to look at, with its soft charcoal, and its tiny navy decals along the edges, like writing she couldn't read.

“No sir,” Iris said, because Cid was still looking at the car.

After a long moment, he sighed, gaze finally moving to her.

“Reggie got this car for Aulea, back in the day,” Iris stiffened in surprise, “it's a good car. Lot like her, pretty to look at, but she's tougher than she seems.”

His gaze seemd to be weighing them, judging them. Iris waited him out.

“Aulea would be happy to see such fine young women drivng her car,” he said at last, before taking his lunch from Cindy and settling in to one of the lawn chairs nearby.

Crowe leaned close to Iris and whispered, “Aulea? As in-”

“As in the queen, Noctis's mother,” Iris nodded, looking at Ekleípō with new eyes. She traced over the swirling patterns of the decals, and wondered if the queen had chosen them herself, or if they'd come with the car.


	4. canon, uninterrupted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ladies drive halfway home, canon reasserts itself, and then gets shoved out of the way

The heady revelation that Iris had ~~stolen~~ _borrowed_ the dead queen's car, didn't stop the duo from packing it full with all the things Pryna had selected, some of which had to be stowed in the footwells of the back seats.

Cindy saw them off, and the duo began the drive back to Insomnia.

The pair had agreed to let Crowe drive, since she knew how to get to Cyalos Haven, and there was the checkpoint at Ostium Gorge to get through. Iris took the chance to asctually get a look at the country side as they drove, now that she wasn't focused on getting as far as she could, as fast as she could.

It was pretty, in a desolate sort of way, Iris decided. Different from Insomnia for sure.

Before they reached the Checkpoint, Iris managed to spot two more Havens, both a fair ways off the road. She also saw a military base, which made her scowl, but it was gone from sight quickly enough.

Something... odd was going on at the Ostium Gorge Checkpoint, but Iris couldn't figure out what. The guards seemed like they were turning away far too many people, cars lined the sides of the road. Tourists and returning citizens alike were complaining loudly.

Crowe's deep frown, Kingsglaive ID, and Iris's own identification, seemed to be the only reason they got through at all.

“What the hell was that all about?” Crowe asked, not expecting reply as she turned the corner at the far end of the checkpoint's facilities. The two young women glanced at each other, neither had any answers, only mounting concerns.

The road stretched out, and so did the country side, as much as it could with the mountains to one side and a valley wide swooped up into another mountain on the other. The sun hung so low in the sky as the pair finally reached the tunnel, that they would have been better off stopping at Prendle, a small outpost just south of the tunnel entrance, but both of them wanted to get back to Insomnia as soon as possible.

The first few metres of artificial lighting was a soft golden hue, but the further into the tunnel, it birghtened to a strong, white light, so bright, it was like standing outside during full daylight, but everything seemed flat and washed out.

Iris made a disgruntled sound, and held up a hand to block the string of lights that seemed to be making an attempt on her eyes.

“Yeah,” Crowe's voice was almost smothered by the echo of the Ekleípō's engine and tires in the confined space, “annoying, but these lights deter daemons.”

Iris startled at that, “but I thought... how would...?”

“Daemons can hang out during the day, as long as they don't get too close to sunlight. Caves are their favourites, but there's been some reports of daemons appearing in normal tunnels like this. There was an incident in this tunnel a couple of years back, and the king had the whole thing refurbished with these,” Crowe gave a vague gesture to the lights, “unfortunately, they haven't managed to get them into other tunnels. Folks out here would rather use the lights to defend settlements, which _will_ be attacked, rather than waste good anti-daemon lights on tunnels where they _rarely_ attack.”

Iris nodded, understanding the thought process, and the lights turned back to golden, easing the strain on their eyes before they exited the tunnel, into the dark of early night.

Crowe eased back on the speed, and pulled off the road into a small slip lane, which lead back around behind them. The road sloped up, and before Iris knew it, they were pulling into a parking lot above, and to the side, of the tunnel they'd just come out of. The girl could see another road leading off from the parking area, and realised it must have lead back down and around to the other side of the main road below.

“Hey,” Crowe's voice brought Iris's attention back to her. The Glaive had their new tent and two of the sleep rolls, and gave the open boot a nod. “Want to grab some stuff for me?”

“Oh, right,” Iris gave an abashed grin and began rifling through their supplies.

In the Haven's firelight, the duo set up their gear, settling in to wait.

“Hey Crowe?” Iris asked suddenly, moving to the edge of the Haven, “are those Imperial Airships -”

Iris cut herself off with surprised shriek as the ships began firing on the shield covering the city.

It should have been fine, the barrier should have remained strong. But the shield collapsed.

“What the f-” Crowe grabbed for Iris, pulling the girl back when she tried to leap from the Haven. Both women trying to comprehend what they had seen.

The shield had collapsed from _within._

The airships began exploding, one of them plummetting toward the centre of Insomnia. They couldn't see properly from the distance, but even with the binoculars they'd purchased, details were hard to make out, even with the light reflecting up from the city.

Crowe's phone pinged in her pocket, she didn't recognize the number, as she grappled with a distraught Iris, she read the message.

[Protect her]

* * *

Less than an hour later, her magic vanished.

Iris screamed as she fought with Crowe, trying to get free, to get to Insomnia despite the bridge and daemons between them.

By the time the giant daemon from the battle in Cauthess was dropped, neither of them had the energy left to do more than cry.

Almost everyone Iris had ever known or loved was in the city.

Crowe's _brothers_ were in the city.

From their elevation, even through the dark and distance, they saw the Old Wall come to life. Statues of kings past coming to life to fight the invasion of Insomnia.

Crowe wondered how many of its citizens the 'defenders' were crushing underfoot as they fought.

* * *

Crowe had stayed awake all night, but Iris had fallen asleep in the early hours after midnight. The glaive pulled both their phones out, checking for any new messages, but there were none.

In Iris's contacts list, she found the mystery number from earlier.

'Dad'

* * *

With dawn came a light fog and a mild drizzle.

And a line of refugees slowly making their way across the bridge and into Leide.

The rain woke the young girl with a start and a scream, Crowe called her name several times before she stopped flailing. Iris moaned low, and twisted until she could press her face into Crowe's chest, trying to block out the view across the water. The rain hadn't yet reached Insomnia, and pillars of smoke wound their way up into the sky.

Even from their vantage point, they could smell it.

“What...” Iris's voice was muffled and shaking. “What do we do now? I don't- I don't know what to do!”

Crowe silently smoothed the girl's hair down.

Crowe didn't know what to do either.

She ignored how much her hands were shaking.

She ignored the hollow in her chest where the bright sparkle of the King's magic had been.

She ignored Pryna until the dog was all but laying on top of them.

She thought of the supplies Pryna had directed them to buy - not nearly enough to help the refugees - and shoved down a sudden burst of bitter anger.

Crowe pressed a kiss to Iris's temple and whispered “we'll figure it out.” She did her best to give comfort, trying to recreate the support Libertus had given her so long ago.

“My dad... do you think he...”

Crowe could taste bile on the very back of her tongue, her skin prickling with horror.

“Crowe?”

“The-” the Glaive swallowed, trying to get rid of the block that was suddenly trying to close up her throat. How could she tell Iris what she knew? How could she not?

“ _Crowe_?”

“The king... The king is dead.” Crowe felt detached from herself as she finally said it out loud, the only explanation for what she'd felt the night before, the sudden void within herself. It was terrifying how much more _real_ it felt now that she'd said it, now that the truth hung in the air.

“No, no, no, nonononono-” Iris shook her head, trying to deny it for as long as she could, so she wouldn't have to face the truth that would follow.

Her father was the _Shield of The King_ , he would never have left the king's side, he would never have let his friend and charge die.

Iris muffled her scream in Crowe's chest.

Her father was dead.

* * *

Pryna waited until Iris was finished crying before she began tugging the duo from the campsite. Reluctant to follow the messenger, the two young women walked slowly, even when Pryna tried to urge them on, to go faster.

Crowe and Iris were just to exhausted, emotionally and physically, to hurry along the barely there path, wending its way through the rocky outcroppings and up the mountainside.

It took them perhaps half an hour longer than it would have if they were in top condition, but eventually Iris tripped, boot covered toe catching on cut stone paver.

Both she and Crowe flailed at the sudden change in momentum, Crowe trying to catch Iris, as Iris tried to catch herself. Their rain jackets – bought from Hammerhead amongst the other gear – shifted just enough that both of them cringed, feeling water trickle down beneath the protective surface, and into their only mildly damp clothes.

“This is a great trip,” Iris grouched as she finished righting herself.

The rain began to fall harder.

From several metres up the path, Pryna barked. The duo looked over to her and startled.

Along the 'path' they'd been following, several more pavers sat, barely visible amidst the grass trying to grow over them. Where the path and mountainside crested, Pryna stood looking back.

Beside her was a darkly furred dog with something in its mouth.

“Any chance you know who that is?” Crowe asked, voice raised to be heard over the rain.

“I think that's... Um...bra? Maybe?” Iris's face scrunched as she tried her best to recall the dog's name. “Yeah, I'm pretty sure that dog's name is Umbra.”

Thunder rumbled overhead, and Crowe gave Iris's arm a gentle squeeze. The girl nodded, and they moved forwards, with more intention now, but no additional speed, the rain slicked grass and hidden pavers slowing them.

At the top of the path, the mountain side opened up into a small flat area, paved with more grass covered stone. The Dogs moved from their place towards what Crowe and Iris had initially thought was a white outcropping, but as they moved closer and were able to make out more details through the rain, realised was in fact some kind of small, ornamental building.

The structure was like a stretched dome, shoved into the side of the mountain, with a wedge cut out of the end that revealed a pair of inset doors, a statue of some kind perched on a ledge directly above.

Umbra and Pryna settled themselves either side of the doors, seemingly unbothered by the weather. When Crowe and Iris joined them, Umbra leaned forwards, placing what he'd been carrying on the ground before settling back.

Iris moved first, kneeling down to pick up what turned out to be a key. She held it up for Crowe to see, and the duo looked over to the doors, where a keyhole sat.

The canine pair waited.

Crowe pulled her knife free from its sheath, just in case, and took the key, motioning for Iris to get behind her. For a second, Iris seemed ready to argue, but relented and moved back.

With one hand Crowe slid the key into the lock, turning until she felt the soft pop of the mechanism's release. She pulled it free and slid the key into her pocket, pushing the door open and peering into the gloom beyond.

Pryna pushed past her, unconcerned by the possible daemons lurking in the dark. Umbra let out a 'wuff' and bounded off into the rain, disappearing down the mountainside. The two young women shared a look and stepped inside.

As she stepped out of the rain, Iris let out a quiet 'oh', that might have echoed across the dark space, had it not been for the noise outside, and the pounding on the roof, muffled though it was by the stone.

Slipping a hand under her rain coat, Iris pulled out the clip-on-torch she had slipped on the evening before and forgotten about. With an unheard click, it turned on, spilling light across the mostly empty room.

The room was shorter than Crowe had thought it would be, the stone between ceiling and roof thicker than she had assumed, but the ceiling was still high enough that even on her tip-toes with arms outstretched, she wouldn't have been able to touch it, especially not in its highest point.

The floor was barren except for a compass pattern in the tiles, with a single pedestal in the centre. Comprised of a short, upward flaring pillar and a wide table top, it was easy to see that this pedestal was the focus of this building.

“Is... that...” Iris's voice was quite enough that Crowe almost missed it, but she thought she knew what the girl might be asking. Pushing back her raincoat's hood as she stepped forwards, Crowe slid her knife back into its sheath.

Atop the pedestal's altar top, lay a figure, made of some kind of stone, or perhaps a metal, the duo weren't quite close enough to tell. Iris angled the light a little better, and they could make out features.

A long dress, the swell of breasts hidden beneath crossed arms, coiled hair around the figure's head.

Her hands though, were perhaps the highlight.

The arms were crossed so that the hands settled just above the figure's collar bones, slightly splayed so that each finger was separate from the others, but not so wide that the hand's adornments couldn't have been slipped on or off after carving.

A rich honey gold, mirrored on both hands, five rings connected to a delicate lattice of minuscule chains, held across the back of the hand by cuffs around the wrists. Small jewels sparkled from the joins of the latticework.

Without warning, Pryna appeared, popping up from behind the pedestal, she held herself by the figure's head with her front paws, and -

“RARF!”

\- barked loudly in its ear.

Iris and Crowe shared a look of confusion, and waited. After a moment, Crowe noticed something in the stone stir.

“Get back!” She gestured Iris towards the door, not taking her eyes of the statue which was no longer a statue. The head turned to her, and the stone melted away, revealing a dark haired woman in a long black dress, the jewelled gloves on her hands sparking with mystical energy.

Before Crowe could react the woman sat up, swinging her legs over the edge and grabbing Crowe's wrist with her faintly glowing hands.

“Crowe Altius,” the woman's voice held an otherworldly echo as she spoke. “I am Sabbatha, the fifty-second, the Arcane, the Witch Queen. The messenger has made a very interesting case for a favour, and I find myself in agreement with her, therefore-” Sabbatha released Crowe's wrist and took both her hands instead, she pulled the Glaive closer, placing Crowe's warm hands on her cold – dead – chest, just below her collar bones. The dead queen slid her right hand over Crowe's right hand, and crossed her left arm over so she could do the same with their left hands.

The jewelled gloves began to glove brightly, so bright Crowe had to squint.

“As per the agreement I have reached with the messenger: Crowe Altius, Glaive of the Kings of Lucis, I grant unto you my power, and bequeath to you my weapon, The Rings of the Arcane, may their power give you the strength to see this world to safety.”

Crowe gasped as the queen's hands sank into her own, the gloves – the 'Rings of the Arcane' – almost burning against her skin as they melded to her hands.

The light died down completely, and Crowe saw the queens hands once again sitting atop her own.

“Good luck, Glaive Altius,” the queen said, a deep sorrow in her eyes, “truly.”

Sabbatha squeezed Crowe's hands lightly, and dissolved into a storm of blue shards, like the after image of a warp breaking.

“What,” Iris's voice startled her, “the fuuu-” the girl's voice trailed off. “Crowe? You okay?”

Crowe, hesitated, looking down at her decorated hands for a minute.

“I... seem to be okay?” Crowe shook her head as Iris stepped forwards to look at patterned skin of Crowe's hands. The 'Rings' had not just stuck to her skin, but seemed to be stuck _in_ her skin. Where the wires and chains and jewels of the rings and mesh of the gloves should have been, was metallic tattoos, glowing faintly in the light of Iris's torch.

“How did you know they'd do that?” Iris asked, slightly awed.

“What do you mean?” Crowe frowned, looking at the girl.

Iris shrugged and gave a vague gesture to Crowe's hands and the statue, “when you put your hands up and the gloves beamed onto your hands?”

“Uh, that's... not what happened,” it was Iris's turn to frown. Crowe looked to the far side of the pedestal, but their magical dog companion was once again, nowhere to be found, Sabbatha's statue back in place, only the missing 'Rings' to signal anything had happened. Sighing heavily, Crowe rubbed her eyes, suddenly very tired.

“So, I think we might be caught up in some divine bullshit, I may have just met a ghost.”


	5. long road home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile, with Luna

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: frequent mentions of BLOOD and INJURIES to FEET

It hadn't been raining when they'd left the city, overcast, but not yet raining. Luna had held her head high when they'd ~~started the evacuation~~ ~~been allowed to leave by the Niflheim guards~~ begun their trek.

Her feet hadn't started bleeding until they were just over a third of the way across the bridge. Her shoes, not meant for the long walk, had already begun to rub during her race across the city with Nyx. Luna wished she had chosen a different pair, a better fitted pair, to wear to the party she'd been kidnapped from.

She winced as the rain changed direction slightly, blowing straight into her face as she and her group walked. She didn't bother stopping to take her shoes off, she'd just have to deal with the rough road surface and increased risk of infection.

Plus it might draw attention to her.

So far no one had seemed to notice her, everyone too wrapped in their own misery and fear to realise The Oracle was amongst them. Luna felt a heavy weight upon her shoulders, a sliver of self doubt and recrimination.

'Some Oracle,' she let the angry thought slip in. She had been unable to stop any of it, had had to rely on Nyx just to get away.

She'd talked big, about duty and the future, but as she walked on bleeding feet across a bridge that seemed unending, she felt only doubt. How was she going to help these people, when she could barely help herself?

For a split second Luna felt warmth on her skin, the scent of her mother's almost forgotten perfume brushed her nose.

Lunafreya reached for the there-and-gone sensation, though it slipped from her mental grasp. Still, she felt the barest twitch of her mouth as she let herself pull up good memories.

She would do this because she had to, she was The Oracle, she would do this because she _could_ do this. She was not alone, Gentiana and Umbra and Pryna were with her, even if they weren't by her side at the moment.

She knew Noctis's thoughts were with her, and Libertus was waiting for her, and Nyx...

Nyx had made sure she could walk forward, so she would walk forward.

 

 

Beneath her rejuvenated determination, a sliver of doubt remained.

* * *

The weather had let up and the sun was setting by the time the group made it all the way across, and Luna was certain many of them would be falling ill from their time in the rain. Ahead of them, past a pair of side roads that led up into the mountainside, a tunnel filled with bright lights beckoned.

Cries of delight went up as the refugees realised they'd made it to their goal, and that the tunnel lights _were_ still on as they'd hoped.

Cries of delight turned into worry as the tunnel let out a large growl, and the group saw vehicles racing towards them. Everyone scattered off the road, onto the rocky ground, hoping the vehicles would pass without incident.

The first vehicle to emerge was a sleek looking car, that reminded Luna strongly of the sports cars from the royal garage, which she'd seen as she and Nyx had run from Glauca.

The car came to a halt by the side of the road, near where Luna stood, one of the furthest from the tunnel. Behind that car was a truck, and a small bus. The car door opened and a woman stepped out, Luna thought she saw something glimmer around the woman's hands, but was distracted as she started talking.

“I'm Crowe Altius, of what's left of the King's Glaive, these folks,” Crowe hitched a thumb towards the other two vehicles, “are from Prendle. For those of you who don't know, it's the small settlement on the other side of this tunnel, they've agreed to help you out for the time being. The Ostium check point has been locked down by Nif's, there's no getting through.”

There were a few people who tried to argue – where was this Glaive when the city was attacked, how could they trust her, how could they trust what she said, what if this was a trap? - but for the most part, everyone was far too tired to put any energy into it, and they loaded themselves into the vehicles.

Luna had been standing close to where Crowe had pulled up, and when the Glaive looked at her with recognition and understanding and fearful-hope and given her a 'get in' gesture, Luna slipped around the car and into the front passenger seat.

She let out a slight whimper as she sat down for the first time in hours, her feet no longer having to bear her weight.

“Are you alright your highness?” Crowe fixed her with a sharp gaze.

Luna nodded once, “it's my feet,” she admitted, before explaining what happened.

“We'll get you patched up when we get to Prendle,” in the rear view mirror the truck gave a quick flash of its lights. Crowe glanced out to check they had everyone before slowly pulling away from the road side. She performed an easy three-point turn and sped down the tunnel, the other vehicles following suit.

Several times Crowe made to speak, but stopped herself, finally, it was Luna who broke the silence.

“Nyx Ulric told me there was a Glaive sent to see me safely to Insomnia, but that she'd gone missing, presumed killed in the line of duty.”

“That was me,” Crowe confirmed, “no presumed about it, I was murdered by another Glaive.”

Luna gasped, looking at Crowe wide-eyed.

“I got lucky,” Crowe said, before changing the subject. “So if you met Nyx, did you... is there any chance you also met a Glaive named Libertus?”

“Yes,” Luna nodded, using her hands to push herself into a more comfortable position on the seat, “he helped me escape the city, Libertus came to our aid when...”

The car was filled with an awkward silence for a long moment, interrupted only by the sounds from the engines echoing in the tunnel.

“I... don't... I'm sorry but, Captain Drautos, he... he was a traitor, Nyx made Libertus and I leave him behind while he tried to stop Drautos from following me, and Libertus... I... I left Libertus at the edge of the city.” The sliver of doubt blossomed inside her, its creeping tendrils spreading out. “I thought it was the right thing, the Empire will be hunting me, so many people have already...”

Luna pressed her hands to her mouth, trying to stop the sobs building in her throat. She was just too tired to stay strong, to be stoic and steadfast.

Crowe's hands tightened on the steering wheel.

“But Libertus was alive last time you saw him?”

Luna nodded mutely, and Crowe released a shaky sounding sigh.

“Don't worry princess, my brother's tougher than he looks... both of 'em. Besides, someone had to stay behind and help the people evacuate... Look's like I'll be looking after you after all,” Crowe snorted, “'sorry I'm late'.”

If Luna's hysterical laughter in response devolved quickly into tears, Crowe would never mention it.

* * *

Iris waited under an umbrella at the very limit of Prendle's lights, so she was the first to know the vehicles had returned. She ran back to the waiting volunteers and alerted them to the arrival.

When Crowe pulled the Ekleípō into the parking lot, she didn't park near the volunteers, who were waiting to help everyone into the big shed that had been hastily converted into a sleeping area. Instead, Crowe pulled up dangerously close to the caravan that the pair had rented when they'd arrived to ask the settlement for help.

Iris was already heading over to her when Crowe stepped out of the car and looked around for her.

“I need you to open the caravan door, her feet are... kinda bad,” Crowe gave a small nod to where her sole passenger sat, and Iris's eyes, widened as she recognised the lady Lunafreya.

“She's alive?!”

“Shhh,” Crowe's eyes flicked towards where the other vehicles were pulling in, “inside.”

Iris nodded and moved into position, Crowe meanwhile opened the passenger door and leaned inside. In an impressive display of strength, she lifted Lunafreya bodily from the car in her arms, and followed Iris through both caravan doors.

The small group moved deep into the caravan, Iris making sure the shutters and blinds were down as they went. Crowe finally deposited Lunafreya on the lid of the small bathroom's toilet, and sent Iris for their first aid kit as she took a damp cloth and began working the Oracle's blood filled shoes off.

The blonde gasped as some of the caked blood bonding her wound to her shoe pulled, and her wound reopened.

Another gasp echoed her own as Iris returned, kit in hand.

“New shoes,” Luna explained with a watery smile, “a gift from the Chancellor of Niflheim, and a terrible choice for long distance walking.”

“Can you heal yourself?” Iris asked, eyes glued to Lunafreya's bleeding feet.

Luna shook her head, “it is... ah!”

“Sorry,” Crowe tried to gentle her dabbing, reaching out for the kit Iris held.

“It's alright,” Luna said, watching as Crowe went through the contents of the case.

“But, seconding that question,” Crowe said as she pulled out a bottle of disinfectant and wipes, “Oracles are healers, right?”

“We are,” Luna admitted, “but we serve the people, and to use our powers on ourselves would be selfish, it would risk corrupting-”

“Are you kidding me?” Crowe interrupted.

“ _Can't_?” Iris wanted to clarify, “or _won't_ , for 'religious reasons'?”

Luna looked away, ashamed, “can't,” she admitted in a small voice, feeling like a burden, and not at all the pillar of strength and light an Oracle should be.

“Well,” Crowe said with a huff, “we'll just have to make sure you stay off your feet for a while.” Iris nodded in agreement.

In the dark places of her mind, a quiet voice tried to tell her she didn't deserve such kindness and loyalty after everything, but that voice was quickly shut up by Luna swearing as Crowe applied the disinfectant to her raw and bloody skin.

Iris looked absolutely delighted, Crowe gave her an amused look and an insincere apology, to which Luna pouted and hissed and gasped as the Glaive worked on her feet.

Rather than let Iris pick up any of Luna's surprisingly vast repertoire of foul language, Crowe sent the young girl back out to the car to get the spare clothes they'd picked up at Hammerhead. The ones that didn't fit either of _them_.

When Iris returned, clothes in hand, she had something else to report.

“Mr Haku is coming over,” at Luna's curious look, Iris explained, “he's kind of in charge of Prendle.”

“Alright,” Crowe said, carefully setting the last piece of tape in place to hold the bandages on Luna's feet, “I'll go see what he wants,” turning to Luna she said, “ _you_ get changed and warmed up.”

“I can help with that,” Iris smiled as Crowe slid out past her, “I'm a great snuggler, and Amicitia's run warm. My brother, for instance, is literally a giant furnace disguised as muscles.”

Snorting, Crowe opened the door to find Mr Haku raising his hand to knock.

“Ah, Ms Altius,” he smiled warmly, genuine kindness in his face, “I'm sorry to bother you, our trucks have just headed back out, to see if anyone else has made it across the bridge.”

“Thank you, I can't tell you how much we appreciate your willingness to help,” Crowe stepped out of the Caravan, forcing the man away from the door without seeming to, “was there something...”

“Apologies, I heard you brought in a refugee, Daniel said you were carrying them from the car, is everything...”

“Her shoes were... not designed for walking such a long way, we've got her patched up, but we'll keep her in here so she can stay off of them for a while, heal up.”

“Of course, of course... forgive me for prying but... Daniel also said... it... appeared to be...” Mr Haku gave her a look, waiting to be told whether he was wrong... or somehow right.

“Appeared to be...?” Crowe asked, raising an eyebrow, she couldn't answer if she didn't know what he was asking, even if she was pretty sure she knew.

“Glaive Altius,” Mr Haku stood straighter, the soft edges of his character sharpening. For a moment, Crowe could see the man he was before he'd retired from the Crownsguard.

“ _They_ 'll come looking if they know she's alive,” Crowe cut him off, “after what they just did to Insomnia, do you think the Empire would spare a few refugees for the chance of getting her back. If they-” Crowe nodded to the shed where the refugees had been settled, “-didn't realise who they were walking with all day, there's no need to enlighten them, every person who knows is another mouth that might let slip.”

Mr Haku watched her for a long moment, deep sorrow marring his face, “you think anyone would give _her_ up to _them_?”

“I think desperate people will do a lot for a chance,” Crowe shrugged, “they might not even mean to.”

The pair stood in silence for a long few minutes before Mr Haku spoke.

“We will do what we can to contact the remaining Crownsguard in the city, there are tunnels, hidden and secret, we should be able to use to evacuate those who remain... if we can find them.”

“My brother, Libertus, he's still in the city, I can give you his number, you might be able to reach him.”

“...it sounds as if you do not plan to help with the rest of the evacuations..." Crowe shrugged again,  "then what do you plan to do?”

“I was charged with _her_ safety by the King, and I have a messenger of the Astrals who seems to think it's still my duty, so what I do now, will be based on what's best for her.” Crowe looked over suddenly, to a spot hidden from the garage by Ekleípō. “Don't think I haven't figured out who our third party member is.”

Pryna gave a soft, pleased bark, and a doggy grin.

Mr Haku startled ever so slightly, having not noticed the dog until that point.

“She does that,” Crowe told him with a poorly hidden smirk, which melted away in favour of a more serious look. “Whatever we decide, I'll let you know what I can.”

“I understand,” he nodded, his softness returning as his shoulder's relaxed ever so slightly, “and whatever _she_ decides, I wish you all good luck.”

“Thank you,” Crowe smiled as he turned and walked away, then she turned back to the waiting dog... dog ** _s_** , and opened the caravan doors. “Get in if you're getting in,” she waited just long enough for the two dogs to bound inside the caravan, where they were met with Luna's delighted cries of “Pryna!” and “Umbra!”

Once Crowe followed them in, she finally got to see for herself that the clothes from Hammerhead really were a perfect fit for the blonde.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Loose track of the days of the week? psh, noooooo……  
> partly?  
> … okay, this chapter just kicked my ass, figuring out how emotional I could get before I woobied Luna was hard. I THINK I did okay, but, we'll see.


	6. Three to Posse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gentiana is... Gentiana, the girls start to figure out what Pryna's up to  
> Warning: women feeling and expressing emotions

Luna was warm, in dry pyjamas, tucked in a blanket with both her dogs. She took a long sip of water, boiled in a kettle, enjoying the heat that seeped into her. It felt so good to just sit and be warm after her day long trek in the rain.

She could feel herself starting to drift off, now that she finally had the chance to stop.

And now that she _did_ have the chance to stop, she was surprised by how long she'd been awake.

The night of the party, the night Gluaca had taken her, she'd dozed, tried to meditate, but not truly slept. She'd already been tired when Nyx and the other Glaives had arrived, but too on edge to rest, then too busy and too pumped with Adrenaline, and she and Nyx were running, to the king, from Gluaca, for their lives.

After her escape from the city, she'd been focused on putting one foot in front of the other, trying to block out the negative thoughts that tried to pry their way in.

Now she was safe, and warm, and about to be fed by what Iris had assured her was the best food on Eos: Cup Noodles.

In the soft haze, it took Luna a few seconds longer than it should have, to realise the tapping she heard was a knock at the caravan door. Iris was already opening the solid inner door by the time Luna caught on, Crowe shifting from her place by the noodle cups, so she could see who was outside.

Crowe took a step, frown on her face, while Iris swayed, face almost pressed against the outer door's mesh screen, trying to find the cause of the knock.

“Oh,” Luna grinned as Gentiana appeared in the space of a blink. In her overly tired head space, Luna forgot something very important: neither of her new companions knew the Messenger.

At Luna's 'oh', Crowe and Iris turned to the blonde, and saw a stranger standing in the limited space of the caravan, wielding a trident.

Crowe summoned lightning to her hands, aided by the Rings of the Arcane, ready to stun the intruder, Iris darted to the side, using the caravan's furniture as a spring board, she rapidly hopped across the distance, leaping into the space between Luna and the intruder.

Iris went so fast that her momentum slammed her into the bench-top of the caravan's kitchenette, but she managed to right herself in just seconds.

Behind her, Pryna had risen and begun growling. Umbra too had risen, but only bared his teeth, following his sister's lead.

“What's going on?” Luna looked from Gentiana to Pryna. “Pryna, it's just Gentiana.”

“Just Ge-” Crowe's gaze flickered from the new comer to Luna, “Lady Lunafreya, do you know this woman?”

Luna looked startled, “yes, of course. This is Gentiana, she's a Messenger of the Astrals, just as Pryna and Umbra are.”

Pryna snarled.

The woman with the trident bowed her head slightly, as though acknowledging the truth of what Pryna had... 'said'.

“I am Gentiana,” the woman allowed, “and I act a Messenger for the Astrals, though I am not strictly speaking, the same as Pryna and Umbra. This difference gives them a few freedoms which I do not possess.”

“Freedoms?” Crowe asked, lightning still fizzing around her hands.

“From the Will of the Astrals, from Bahamut's designs and commands.”

“Is-” Luna shifted, wincing as the blanket pulled too tightly across her feet, “is this about The Prophecy?”

Crowe and Iris shared a confused look, and waited for someone to explain.

“It is,” Gentiana nodded, “there are many paths to a destination, Bahamut prefers a path that Pryna... does not care for.”

There was a long beat of silence before Luna spoke up.

“I- I don't understand, what does that mean?”

Iris shifted so she could look at Pryna without giving Gentiana an open route to Luna, even if the mystery woman _was_ a... 'friend'.

“Is this... why you took me to Crowe?” Pryna glanced at Iris, then gave a small nod and a short woof that sounded like an affirmation.

“It is also,” Gentiana said with a disapproving tone as she turned to look at Crowe, “why you were able to come back.” At Crowe's 'what the hell does _that_ mean' expression, the Messenger elaborated. “You were dead far longer than you believe, longer than even the power of the Phoenix allows. Under normal circumstances, your soul would have been gone, and your body unable to undergo restoration, but Pryna held you in this realm, before the door of True Death.”

A heaviness seemed to settle in the caravan, the air weighed down by the revelation. Crowe wanted to demand more answers, to ask if she'd been able to see Queen Sabbatha because she'd been receiving the Rings, or because Crowe herself had been dead.

But Gentiana turned back to Luna.

“Regardless of Pryna's desires, or my own, you must still begin the Covenants for the King. Your Duty is unchanged.”

Pryna snarled, growling long and low in her throat, and this time, Umbra echoed his sister's growls.

Between them, Luna looked at Pryna like the dog was a stranger.

Gentiana nodded, “I understand, and though it goes against the design of Bahamut, I truly wish you _all_ the best of luck.” The woman placed the Trident against the closest stretch of wall, bowed to Luna, or maybe Pryna, and disappeared between the space of one heartbeat and the next.

“What is going on?” Luna asked in a thin, faint voice, looking for any of them to explain.

Iris turned to face her fully, and the younger girl's knees went weak. Iris slid down the cabinet door, plopping audibly onto the ground. “I- I don't...”

“At this point,” Crowe took a few steps forward, just far enough to fall into the caravans small couch, the electricity fading from her hands. “I think Pryna might be the only one who knows.”

“Crowe...” Iris looked even younger than she was, eyes wide as she looked at the Glaive. “How long were you dead?”

Crowe shook her head, “What day is it?” Luna and Iris answered at the same time, and Crowe blanched. For a moment, no one moved, then Crowe stood in a quick motion. “Can you?” Crowe made a general gesture between Iris and Luna, but Iris seemed to know what she was asking, and nodded.

“I need some air,” Crowe managed to keep what remained of her composure together until she reached the edge of Prendle's lights, out of the view of the Caravan or the shed bound refugees.

Though there wasn't much, everything in Crowe's stomach soon found itself on the rain soaked ground.

When she was done, Crowe stepped away and sank to her knees, pressing her hands hard over her mouth as she tried not to scream, finally understand _just how much_ **she shouldn't be alive** _ **.**_

* * *

 

When Crowe returned to the Caravan, it was just in time to hear the end of Iris's recount of what had happened to them over the past several days, something they'd mostly skipped over earlier while getting Luna dry and warm.

As Iris's voice petered off, Luna gave her own account of what had happened, from her attempted flight from Tenebrae, to her kidnapping from Insomnia, to her march across the bridge.

When she finished, she and Iris looked to Crowe, who, after a moment's hesitation, told them what she knew, how long she'd been dead, and her suspicions from Pryna's Hammerhead shopping spree.

She let the words hang in the air, let the two other women work through them at their own pace, meanwhile, Crowe checked on their Cup Noodles, huffing when she found the cups full of bloated mush, too far gone to still be called noodles. Too cold.

She tracked down a frying pan and some bread in their supplies, and set to fixing it as best she could. She was not the best of cooks, but salvage noodles was a KingsGlaive staple.

As she fried off what excess liquid she could, Crowe considered Gentiana's words.

“So, princess,” Luna looked up with a quite, questioning 'hmm'. “What was that... Gentiana? What was she talking about, Covenants for the King? And that... prophecy you were asking about?”

Luna took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts.

“What do you know of the Starscourge?”

“The Scourge?” Crowe glanced over at her, “it's a disease spread by daemons, if you believe the rumours, it turns you _into_ a daemon if allowed to run it's course.”

“The rumours are true,” Luna said, pulling the blankets tighter around her shoulders. “The line of the Oracle has several purposes, one is to heal the scourge, to rid its taint from our star. Another, is to speak for the Astrals, to communicate their Will to humanity.” Luna stopped to take another deep breath, “The Oracle, is also to help the King of Light to form a pact with the Astrals themselves, to give him the power to destroy the scourge once and for all, by killing the very embodiment of its corruption, a being known as The Accursed.”

“King of... Light?” Iris asked.

“The True King, foretold since the founding of Lucis, a King of the Lucian Bloodline, chosen by the Crystal and blessed by the Gods.” Umbra whined, and pressed himself close to Luna's side. “I believe Noctis to be that King. Therefore, I must seek out and speak with the Astrals in person, to begin the Covenants, so that Noctis may receive their blessings and save this world.”

Crowe waited for a moment, as she served up the salvage noodles, but Luna seemed to be finished speaking, so Crowe went ahead and asked.

“What _aren't_ you saying?” Luna looked at Crowe with wide, startled eyes. “Don't bullshit me princess, a Messenger of the Gods just pulled some serious crap to get the three of us together, so I have to assume it's for a _damned_ good reason. What. Aren't. You. Saying?”

Luna's gaze became fixated on the stitching of the blanket, she sniffled, felt tears welling in her eyes as she tried to say the truth she'd avoided for so long.

“The Forging of the Covenants will take a heavy toll on my body,” Luna's breath began coming in sobs, “I don't expect to survive but...” she pressed her hands to her face, her next words coming out muffled, “I don't think Noctis will either.”

“That's bullshit!” Iris said, so loud it was almost a shout.

Crowe looked to Pryna, who looked back with a serious expression, and for once, the Glaive had no doubt what the divine dog was after.

“Of course it's bullshit,” Crowe said, “that's _why we're_ _here_.” The two other women looked up at her, but Crowe's gaze was still locked with Pryna's.

“Pryna brought us together for a reason, and that reason is that Bahamut's plan, this prophecy stuff: it's bullshit. Think about what Gentiana said, it's easy to figure out: Pryna has a plan that involves you _not_ dying.”

“Pryna?” Luna looked at her long time companion with fearful hope. Pryna turned to Luna, woofing shyly and giving the blonde a small lick. Luna lunged for the dog, wrapping her arms tightly around her. _“Thank you.”_ Luna had long given up on surviving her Duty, had resigned herself to her fate, knowing her death would help save the world. But a chance to have a future for _herself_ , as selfish as it was...

She let herself hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will try to get back to my normal schedule for this fic, but this chapter honestly kicked my ass a little. It's always difficult writing emotional stuff, trying to find that line between what's actually realistic, what reads as realistic, and what's just annoying. Then trying to figure out how much or how little hand holding I should use for the emotional shifts the characters go through, like 'can they tell this character's resolve is returning here, or do I need to tell them so it doesn't seem like some kind of emotional spectrum yoyo tournament?'
> 
> Don't worry, those of you who came for the road trip: most of the emotional content is now out of the way.


	7. With a bang or a whimper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the group make plans, then blow something up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: a character experiences a Panic Attack/Dissociative Episode in this chapter.  
> If this bothers you, but you would like to keep going, skip everything after they ladies reach the Haven. There will be a line, so just the last scene in the chapter. (It is pretty stealth, like, a lot of people might not consider it to be a panic attack, but this is one of those things I'd rather over tag/warn for than under.)  
> Alternatively, I've put a Too Long Didn't Read summary in the End Notes, just ignore everything above it.

In the early morning, plates of mostly finished toast, and mugs with traces of hot chocolate were pushed to the side of the caravan's table as the trio of young women leaned over a map.

“The Titan is located in the Disc of Cauthess, here,” Luna said, pointing to the Disc on the map. Crowe nodded and drew a small X in an easy to see fluoro' orange. “He'll be the easiest to reach, because he always stays in the same place.”

“'Easiest,'” Crowe snorted, “sure, but not easy. When I stepped out to grab milk this morning, Mr. Haku gave me an update on the invasion. The Ostium Gorge Checkpoint has been turned into a blockade. Word is, the same's happened to Norduscae, which means even if we get back into Leide proper, we'd be blocked off from Duscae... unless the tunnel near Galdin Quay is still open but...”

Iris frowned, “but what are the chances they'd leave it open? It's either closed, or a trap.”

“Right,” Crowe said in agreement, eyes skimming over the map, looking for some way into Duscae.

“Do you think Mr. Haku would know?” Iris asked, “or know someone who'd know, at least?”

Luna looked at Crowe with hopeful eyes, and the Glaive sighed.

“I'm not sure, but we can ask,” Crowe tapped on Luna's arm with the back end of the pen, “for now though, you should tell me where else we need to go, if Mr. Haku _doesn't_ know how to get us to Duscae, he might know how to get us to one of the other sites.”

“Right,” Luna nodded and turned back to the map. “Ramuh has ties to Angelgard, once the Covenant has begun, he _should_ move to a place closer to Noctis that he has ties to, but I think _my_ best bet would be there.”

Iris made a small, worried noise in the back of her throat, and Crowe swore under her breath: that was not going to be easy. Between the religious crap and the razor reefs, no one went there, which meant no one would take them there.

Well, there might be _someone_ willing to take The _Oracle_.

Crowe marked Angelgard with a bright ink X to match the Titan in the Disc.

“The Leviathan has a resting place in Altissia, there's an altar there-” Pryna startled the group by growling deep in her chest, “Pryna? What's wrong?” Luna leaned over so she could reach the dog, who stopped growling to whine and press herself close to Luna. Umbra looked caught between remaining 'stoic', and also whining desperately and pressing himself to Luna's side.

“Let's leave Altissia for last,” Crowe suggested, which seemed to cheer up the canine messengers.

“Alright,” Luna agreed.

Iris pulled the map towards herself slightly, “so that leaves... Bahamut... Shiva and... Ifrit...”

“Bahamut lies within the Crystal, which was stolen by Niflheim,” Luna admitted, “the body of the Glacian lies in their lands as well.”

“Her... _body_!?” Iris looked aghast, “but...”

“The Niflheim army sought to slay an Astral, and they paid a terrible price. Their people are _still_ paying that price.”

“So what about Ifrit?” Crowe asked, “he's supposed to be an evil son-of-a-bitch, but he's still an Astral.”

“My dad told me a story about Ifrit invading Insomnia like, 23 years ago, or something like that,” Iris said, “he said Bahamut showed up and wailed on that jerk, totally kicked his ass.”

Luna made a thoughtful hum, “you know, it's said that he was killed in the War of the Astrals, and his body was laid to rest on the Rock of Ravatogh.”

“So would that be a good place to summon him?” Iris asked, “how many times can a God die anyway?”

“And where's Shiva if death doesn't kill a God?” Crowe asked. For a split second, she thought of the Messenger, Gentiana. She could see the woman as she'd stood in the Caravan the night before, but in that instant of memory, something about her appearance seemed... false. The memory was gone before Crowe could really realise what she was thinking.

“Shiva could be anywhere, but her strongest land-ties will likely be to Ghorovas Rift, where she slumbered the eons away, and where she was slain. As for Ifrit, Ravatogh... I'm... not sure if we should though. It is said he gifted human kind fire, and ruled the Ancient kingdom of Solheim but...”

“Didn't he try to wipe out humanity at one point?” Crowe asked drily.

“Something along those lines,” Luna said a wry tone.

“I'm starting to see why Titan's probably the easiest,” Iris slumped in her seat, the slightest hint of a whine in her voice. Crowe chuckled as she marked notes on the map.

“Alright, you two,” Pryna 'woofed', “ _four_ , stay here,” Crowe said, folding the map, “I'll go see if Mr. Haku knows anything that might help us.”

* * *

Crowe had managed to get Mr. Haku alone in the small general store attached to the service station, so it was no trouble for him to track down maps and markers.

After listening to Crowe's request, and considering the proposed destinations, Mr. Haku opened the map of the local area, covering the territory from the bridge across to Cavaugh, to the Ostium Gorge checkpoint.

Beckoning Crowe closer, her pointed to an area of the map, quite a way up the road towards what was now a blockade.

“There used to be a tunnel around here, led to the northern shores,” he circled the area on the map. “It should still be there, but it'll be locked up tight, a fault opened up one of the walls straight into a daemon infested cave fifteen years ago. Too enclosed for a fighting force large enough to go in and clear them out, but that car of yours... she looks like she's got anti-daemon headlights, if the tunnel itself is intact you'd be able to drive straight through to the other side.”

“They couldn't light up the tunnel?” Crowe asked, watching as Mr. Haku drew an approximation of the tunnel onto the map.

“Not much point, no one lives on the northern shores, to much mountainside. But there is a road that leads all the way...” he pulled out the map of Cleigne, “to this exit up near Meldacio.” He drew a circle around the small flare of road on the map.

“The Hunters' Headquarters?”

“That's the place,” Mr. Haku agreed. “Once you get into Cleigne, you ladies should be able to get into Duscae.”

“The Empire certainly shouldn't be expecting us from the west,” Crowe said with a grin. She let herself savour the victory for only a few seconds before considering practicalities. “But that assumes we can make it to Meldacio, that the road is in good enough condition, that we can make it through the tunnel in the first place; you said it was blocked off?”

“Yes, but you should be able to blow the doors sealing it, anything with the explosive force of a single stick of dynamite should do it. The only reason the daemons haven't torn the doors down are because they don't need to, at least, that's what we've come to believe. The caves that connect to the tunnel may join to some that open up further up the mountain, not that they really seem to need doors all that much.”

Crowe was struck by the words 'single stick of dynamite,' and recalled the single stick Pryna had chosen at Hammerhead, the stick that was currently sitting secured in the boot of the Ekleípō.

“The only other thing I could suggest, would be to join the refugees, we'll have to start ferrying some around the coast soon.”

“No, no need to give the Empire any more excuse to attack them, I'll talk it over with the others, but I'm pretty sure we'll be taking the tunnel.”

Mr. Haku looked at her with appraising eyes.

“You would risk _her_ life in such a manner?”

“If you didn't think we could handle it, why'd you tell me it was an option?”

Mr Haku smiled, “I'm sure you can, but being able to do something doesn't mean you are prepared to do it.”

Crowe gave him a look that let him know what she thought of that, and his smile morphed into a grin.

“I'll write down the name of some of my old Hunter contacts, if they're still alive, they'll help you. You should also make sure you're filled up on fuel before you leave, there will be no chance once you leave, not until you hit Meldacio.”

“Thanks, we appreciate the help.”

“Of course, that young woman is carrying the hope of the world.”

* * *

“A tunnel filled with daemons?” Iris stared at Crowe with wide eyes.

“Yep,” Crowe nodded.

Luna leaned forwards slightly, “and you think this is the best option?”

Crowe shrugged, “we could go with the refugees on the boat-”

“No,” Luna shook her head.

“-yeah, that's what I thought. It won't be easy, but I have a feeling this is a Pryna approved plan...” Crowe rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed, taking a few seconds to... 'appreciate' how odd her life had become since she'd died. “Pryna got me to buy a single stick of dynamite the other day, and Mr. Haku specifically said, it would take an explosion equivalent to a single stick of dynamite.”

“Oh,” Luna said quietly, “that does seem to be some pretty solid evidence.”

Both Luna and Iris looked a little dumbstruck at the coincidence though, like they weren't sure if it _was_ evidence of a greater plan or not.

“Daemon filled tunnel,” Iris said, “why not?”

“No,” Luna turned to Iris, “I can't ask you to come with me into such danger.”

“Pft,” Iris waved a hand like she was wiping the suggestion of her staying behind from the air, “you aren't asking, I'm volunteering.”

Iris stood and moved directly in front of Lunafreya, her shoulder's back, her spine straightened.

“I am Iris Amicitia, blood of the King's Shields, I have trained my whole life to protect the Crown, let me now be _your_ shield Lady Lunafreya, let me be by your side and defend you from harm, allow me to fulfil my duty to the royal line of Lucis by serving you, our future queen, in this time of trial.”

Iris knelt, one hand over her heart, “please, Luna.”

Slightly overwhelmed, Luna reached out and took Iris's hand, “I accept, my shield, I will do my best not to ask things of you which would endanger your life.”

“Good,” Crowe cut in with a smirk, “that means _you'll_ be more likely to take care of yourself so you don't put her out.” Crowe waited a beat for Luna to acknowledge her words before adding: “besides, we can't leave Iris behind... it's _her_ car.”

Iris slammed her hand that wasn't being held across her mouth and nose to hide a _very_ unladylike snort of amusement.

“Technically,” Iris whispered to Luna when she'd gotten control of herself, “it's the Crown's car, I just stole it.”

Luna gasped in delighted and amused shock, before whispering back, “Nyx and I stole a Crown vehicle as well, it, uh... didn't survive.”

“Right, well _your_ not driving,” Crowe said, a hint of humour in her voice.

“What!” Luna said, “no! I can drive, that crash was _not_ my fault.” She looked so put out that Crowe started laughing. “Crowe!” Which set Iris off again. “I _can_ drive _._ ”

Crowe did her best to settle down, “okay, okay,” she giggled, “I'll believe you.”

When Luna continued to look sad, Crowe added, “how about, when we get to Meldacio, you can drive us to our next destination,” Luna's whole demeanour brightened, “at least part of the way.”

“Deal!”

* * *

Iris pulled Ekleípō to a halt a mere twenty metres from the door hiding the tunnel from them. Crowe hopped out of the front passenger seat and walked up to the sealed entrance. She spent a few minutes examining the rusted metal, looking for the best place to put the dynamite, when she found a good spot, she secured it with some duct tape and returned to the car.

Iris backed the vehicle up until Crowe told her to stop, the older woman rising in her seat, high enough to clear the front windscreen with her arms.

The midday sun beat down on the area, and Crowe had to readjust her sunglasses a few times as she tried to get a bead on her target from the increased distance.

“Alright Luna,” she said as she summoned small streaks of lightening to her hands and began swirling them into one, “if you've got any prayers to any Gods that might help, now's the time.”

“Right,” Luna wiped her hands on her jeans and re-gripped her trident, prayers for luck and aid forming in her mind, though she sent them silently.

Crowe flung her hands forwards, a bolt of lightening leaping from her hands to fly towards the tunnel doors.

It struck true, igniting the dynamite in an instance.

Even from the distance, the explosion was loud, and all three of the women flinched, watching as dust and debris went flying. They waited long enough for the dust to settle and to be assured the tunnel wouldn't begin collapsing as a result.

Iris drove forwards, creeping the car slowly through the opening in the now twisted and charred metal that remained, the headlights cutting easily through the darkness while Luna conjured a soft daemon-warding light to the end of her trident.

Though one of the mechanics at Prendle had confirmed the headlights were bright enough to scare off daemons, the trio had been holding their breath on that until now. Witnessing the daemons flinch and scream and melt away was enough to erase the last traces of uncertainty.

Iris increased speed, moving them faster and faster through the tunnel, but not as fast as she would have liked.

Based on what Mr. Haku could remember, the group had estimated that they'd be able to make it through the tunnel and to the first Haven on the northern shore before sunset. They'd also figured they would have enough time to be careful about it, to make sure they weren't driving so fast that they wouldn't be able to stop if a sudden piece of collapsed tunnel surprised them from the dark.

The sound of Ekleípō's engine echoed loudly in the tunnel, covering some, but not all, of the daemons' screams.

Iris focused on the road ahead of her, more intently than she'd ever focused on any road before. Minute after minute after minute the whole way through the tunnel she focused.

She was so focused, she didn't even realise when a few daemons tried to attack from behind the car, only to be warded off by the combined strength of Luna and Crowe's magicks.

Crowe and Luna were likewise hyper-focused, ensuring they weren't surprised by anything from any of the other directions, trusting Iris to navigate them safely through.

Though there were only a few attempts, all easily pushed back by the duo, by the time the car emerged into the late afternoon air, all of the women were immensely tired and mentally worn.

The Haven they were searching for was slightly further away then they thought, but still close enough that they managed to find it and relocate their supplies before true night fell.

* * *

-~*~-

* * *

Luna tried not to show how much being carried everywhere bothered her, she realised she wasn't hiding it very well when Crowe put her hand on the blonde's head, and ruffled her hair.

“Stop worrying, you might feel useless, but resting your feet it the best way to help them heal right now, alright?”

“I suppose,” Luna sighed as Crowe checked her feet.

Across the Haven from where they sat, Iris finished securing the tent.

“Alright, tent done! Who wants packet mix soup?”

“Oh, yes please,” Luna called over Crowe's shoulder.

“Sign me up,” Crowe added.

“Coming right up!” Iris grinned as she started the preparations. 'Though there are far less steps with the packet mix than when Iggy is cooking... I wonder how Gladdy's doing...'

While things began to simmer, Iris checked her phone.

[No Signal]

Was it their place on the northern cliffs, or because Insomnia was gone, Iris wondered. Sighing, she put her phone away, she'd just have to call Gladdy and let him know she was safe when they got to Meldacio.

She wondered if Jared and his family had escaped.

Iris looked north east, over the straight to Insomnia. It was darker than it should have been, faint glows here and there that she thought might have been fire, but otherwise it looked like a large, looming shadow, kind of like a-

“Hey, Iris, breathe with me,” Crowe's arm settled over her shoulder, turning her away from the darkened city, the Glaive's breathing exaggeratedly loud in her ears. Iris breathed in time with her, suddenly very dizzy.

“That's it, you're doing great, just like that,” Crowe moved her towards Luna, “down we go, that good.” Crowe's voice was gentle as she moved Iris, helping her to sit next to Luna. Luna began breathing loudly, in time with Crowe and Iris.

Iris noticed Crowe moving away, but everything was somehow sort of vague, like she was dreaming, even though she was definitely awake. When Crowe came back she had three mugs of soup, and everything felt a bit more real.

By the time Iris finished her ever-so-slightly-burnt tasting soup, reality had firmly resumed it's normal operations.

“I'm sorry,” Iris said into her empty mug. “Some shield I am, I-”

“It's alright,” Luna said, taking one of her hands. “After my mother- after Tenebrae was invaded, I got a bit like that too.”

“A 'bit'?” Iris asked, “like, not as bad?”

“No, not better or worse,” Luna tried to explain, “different.”

“Sometimes,” Crowe spoke up quietly, “Libertus used to tell me that sometimes, years ago, he'd come home to find me staring at walls. Afterwards, I'd always get a bit... feral, more like I'd been before he found me, like I was back on the streets again. After bad missions, sometimes, I've noticed, sometimes I loose a few minutes here and there.”

Crowe moved so she was in Iris's line of sight.

“You've been through some shit over the past few days, it's okay that you're not shrugging it off like it was nothing, because it was something, it was a whole shitload of something, and you are doing amazing in the circumstances.”

A daemon howl tore through the night.

“I think it's time for bed,” Luna said, and Crowe agreed readily, helping the other two to bed, securing their supplies for the night before joining them in the tent. Iris was already asleep, and Luna wasn't far behind when Crowe slipped into her own sleeping bad, trying to mentally unwind a bit, even as her mind went through a list of all the things they had to do.

It felt like they'd come so far in the last few days, and yet, at the same time, like they'd gotten nothing done at all.

'We've taken a first step, not a lot of anything can be done with a first step, now we just need to keep on going.'

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TLDR:  
> The group maps out where the Astrals are, find out there's a tunnel that takes them along the northern shore of the land mass, up to Meldacio.  
> (you know that little side road that ends after ten metres with a blocked off tunnel just down the road from Hunter HQ? yeah, there, that's the other end).  
> The group makes it through the tunnel with only mild bother, and in the safety of the Haven, Iris has a slight break from reality. Crowe and Luna help her back down, and share the fact that they've had history with being not okay, and that they don't blame Iris for having a reaction to horrific events.


	8. Road through ruin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The road trip takes the trio through darkness and light.  
> Luna connects with her heritage.  
> Crowe accepts that seeing ghosts is a thing she can do now,  
> Iris does her best to keep on keeping on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I have no real excuse for the delay.  
> I actually had this one paragraph(ish+) of this chapter written for two weeks, that I finally just threw out because I couldn't get past it, and decided to start the chapter from scratch.  
> Writing went MUCH better after that.  
> WARNING: for bodily functions and ongoing (healing) injuries to feet, also a blink and miss it implication of an offscreen suicide of an unnamed OC, unseen but mention named OC death.

When people talk about adventures, they rarely talk about the minutia, the small things like the uncomfortable ground, how no amount of blankets and rollup-'mattresses' can make it truly worth it. They don't mention loud tent mates unless it is for comic relief, and they certainly don't mention having to use the bathroom while in the wild.

When the women woke the next morning, all three felt tired, drained from the day before, and bursting for the toilet.

Crowe went first, only because she woke up first, Iris was next because she roused when Crowe returned and tapped her awake. They left Luna asleep until they were done, since she needed help getting to their chosen lavatory site. It was embarrassing for Luna to be helped with such a thing, but she was thankfully able to get some privacy for the actual task.

She made no fuss when she was lifted and carried back to camp, and settled in her camp chair, watching as Crowe and Iris put together a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast.

After breakfast, Luna asked for her Trident to be brought to her.

“Your Trident?” Iris asked with a head tilt, making sure she'd heard correctly.

“Yes, please,” Luna nodded, “I thought I could try Blessing the Haven before we left.”

Crowe's eyebrows furrowed, “'Blessing the Haven'? What's that when it's at home?”

Luna huffed a quiet laugh at the odd turn of phrase.

“Blessing a Haven is something every Oracle is supposed to be able to do. In times of peace, an Oracle would go on a pilgrimage, to visit every Haven and make sure its powers weren't waning. I've... never had the chance to do it, and I thought...”

Luna trailed off, blushing faintly.

“You thought?” Crowe prompted, “that you'd give it a go?”

“...yes, that's what I thought,” Luna replied in a ever so slightly suspicious tone of voice.

Leaning her face close to Luna's, Iris looked at the blonde with curious mischief.

“Oh, _that's_ what you thought?”

“Yes,” Luna did her best to look stoic, but the blush in her cheeks deepened.

“That was the _only_ thing you thought?”

Luna's eyes slid away, catching sight of Crowe standing with one eyebrow raised in clear judgement, though the Glaive mostly looked rather bemused.

Luna's resolve broke, “and if I mess it up, this Haven is so far out of the way that it shouldn't inconvenience anyone if I accidentally break it.” She slapped a hand over her mouth as though she might still be able to stop the words from spilling out.

“Is this dangerous for you?” Crowe asked.

Luna shook her head, “not at all, it's just like refreshing the water in a vase. Well, sort of.”

“Is this going to be taxing for you?” Crowe asked, because 'not dangerous' didn't mean 'easy'.

“I should have enough energy afterwards to hold my Light through the tunnels ahead, but to be honest, I've never done this, and my mother never talked about the toll. Given that almost every Oracle before has done it, and nothing I've ever heard indicates it's taxing...”

“Could just mean they Oracles kept it hush hush,” Iris cut in, “public image and stuff.”

The trio considered the idea for a few minutes.

“Alright,” Crowe said, breaking the quiet, “is there anything you need us to do, any thing we should move, or can you do it as is?”

“As is I believe,” Luna replied, “I can let you know if there's anything interfering... I think.”

Crowe nodded, considering what they knew of their route.

“How about this:” the Glaive said at last, “we'll leave the camp up until you've done your Blessing, _then_ , if you're wiped afterwards we'll stay until tomorrow, or how ever long we need to. If you're fine, we'll pack up and camp at the next Haven along the road. It should be at the end of the next tunnel, it's a three hour drive, _theoretically_.”

“That works for me,” Luna said, and when the two women looked at Iris, she nodded her agreement.

Iris darted off to retrieve the trident for Luna, and once it was securely in Luna's hands, the younger girl took a seat on her camp chair, watching with rapt attention.

Luna closed her eyes, and sunk into her magic, letting it flow out and into the surrounding area.

She felt the bright and ancient presence of the Haven beneath her, and the smaller, but still there signatures of Iris and Crowe. At the edge of her senses, she thought she felt Pryna and Umbra, but she couldn't say physically where they were.

Shrugging it off for the time being, Luna attempted to commune with the ancient protection magic of the stone beneath her, her power slowly coming into sync with it.

Carefully she looked over the construct of mystical energy, looking for any weakness or fraying, where she found problems, she did her best to repair them, sinking her own magic into the archaic foundations to rejuvenate the spell.

Amidst the energy, she felt the echoes of Oracles past.

She wondered if her mother was amongst them.

* * *

 

Luna wasn't worn out afterwards, but she was more tired than she was expecting. The trio decided to stay at the Haven for a little while longer, leaving after an early lunch.

(So early in fact, that Luna and Iris had determined it to be 'morning tea', which had Crowe shaking her head in disgust.)

Crowe tried to argue Iris out of driving, worried the girl might still be shaken from the night before, she volunteered.

“I can drive Crowe,” Iris resisted, “I'm _fine_.”

Luna sat uneasily in the back seat, munching a protein bar and unsure if she should offer her advice.

“I know that, but you should still take a break,” Crowe tried not to get angry, since that would only lose her ground in the fight, “why don't you at least let me drive until the next tunnel, then you can take over.”

Iris hesitated, both Crowe and Luna could see Iris was warring with herself.

“Fine,” the girl said in a small voice, then louder, “but _only_ until the next tunnel!”

Crowe nodded, and moments later, they were underway.

* * *

 

Iris pulled into what remained of the slip road to their next stop, parking as close as she could to the Haven. A heavy tree had fallen at some point, and left them to walk (and be carried) the remaining kilometre.

Crowe and Iris set Luna up in her chair first, and let her begin her Blessing of the Haven while they made the few back and forth trips to move their supplies to the new camp site. With how late they'd left the last Haven, and with Luna determined to Bless this Haven as well, they'd all agreed to just camp over night, rather than use it as only a lunch spot.

* * *

 

Luna woke feeling a little groggy. She struggled her way free of her sleeping bag and looked around the tent confused. She didn't remember going to bed, in fact, she didn't recall much of anything after her second Haven Blessing.

No... that wasn't quite... right...

Luna recalled a friendly chuckle and warm arms around her, she remembered muttering. Luna gasped quietly, pressing a hand over her mouth, feeling absolutely mortified.

She didn't want to face either of her human travelling companions ever again, but in the end, the pressure from her bladder made her leave the safety of the tent.

“Ahem,” she cleared her throat a little, to call the attention of Iris and Crowe.

“Ah, the princess has awoken,” Crowe said with a dangerous smirk, “and she didn't even need a kiss from her _hero_.”

Iris giggled, “so you and Glaive Ulric... how close _did_ you two get during your daring escape?”

Luna flinched, it was only an infinitesimal wince but-

“Shit,” Crowe said, sounding apologetic.

“I'm sorry,” Iris said at almost the same time, both realising it was perhaps still a little too soon.

“It's... fine,” Luna lied, “though if you don't mind, there's a slightly more... pressing issue?”

“Bathroom?” Crowe asked, and Luna nodded. “Well, there's actually a public block just around the shrubbery,” Crowe pointed, “but you do _not_ want to go in there. Hole in the ground again I'm afraid.”

“That's fine,” Luna said, though she wanted to sigh heavily. Some times, the cost of freedom was great and terrible indeed.

* * *

 

Crowe leaned against a small boulder, keeping an ear out for the Oracle. The sun was almost fully risen, and they'd need to leave soon, they had a long day of driving ahead of them.

To speed up the breaking of camp, Iris had begun returning their supplies to the car while Crowe stood guard duty.

It had been startling, the day before, when Luna slumped in her chair. And then when she'd mutter Nyx's name as Crowe lifted her.

And then it had just gotten awkward as the drowsy, magic-worn blonde had added 'my hero' and nuzzled into Crowe's neck.

When the pain hurt less, and the horrors were further away, Crowe fully intended to tell Luna the extent of her 'sleep talking'.

And then tease her mercilessly.

* * *

 

It took a few seconds for the fresh air to really hit them as they exited the tunnel, but when they realised they were free, Iris let out a 'woohoo!' and punched the air.

But only briefly in an aborted gesture since she had to rapidly grab the wheel and swerve around a small land slide. It was old, and only covered half of the road, but she still cut it close.

“Sorry!” She cried to her passengers. Luna and Crowe both laughed, though the sounds that slipped from their mouths held a hint of hysteria.

The tunnel they'd exited had been the second longest of their trip, the third of five on their way to Meldacio from Prendle . It was two thirds of the length of the first tunnel, not quite twice the length of the second.

It had also been the first time they'd had to park the car in a tunnel. Part of the roof was collapsed in so badly they'd had to stop and get out. Iris and Crowe shifting rocks and debris while Luna waited in the car, doing her best to ward of the annoying horde of imps that lingered just outside her holy light's aura. From the scraping of stone, and the larger silhouette in the dark, beyond the imp horde, the trio had known there was far worse in the tunnel with them.

But Luna had managed to hang on, and Iris and Crowe had managed to clear enough of a path for them to get through, and now they were out.

Luna sniffed the air as a scent caught her nose, astringent above the brine of the ocean to their right.

“Do either of you smell that?” She asked, leaning forward.

Crowe and Iris took a few tentative sniffs.

“Mint?” Crowe said, unsure.

“I think I smell onion too?” Iris replied, confused. Crowe scrambled for the map in their glove box.

“Here, there should be a Haven not far now, there's a note about it,” Crowe reached for the little note book where she'd added the information that wouldn't fit on the map. “Mr. Haku said their were a few greenhouses nearby it, so we might find people.”

“People who greatly enjoy mint and onions apparently,” Luna said to mask a feeling of dread coiling in her gut. From the looks of worried doubt Iris and Crowe sent her way, they felt it too.

* * *

 

Since the area had once been settled, they were able to drive almost right up to the Haven, a worn sign hanging by one very rusty chain held lettering they thought might once have been the name of the Haven, though now only the first three letters – Cul – could be made out.

“I'd like to try walking, please,” Luna said as Iris opened the car door for her. The girl hesitated and looked to Crowe, who gave Luna a thoughtful look before she nodded.

“Alright, but take it easy, and if it gets to be too much, you tell us.” Crowe stepped behind the car and rummaged through the trunk until she found a pair of sturdy looking boots. “We picked these up at Hammerhead, let me know if they're no good.” Crowe stared at her, refusing to let Luna look away until the blonde nodded, then changed the bandages and helped her put the shoes on.

Crowe stepped back when she was finished, giving Luna enough room to stand on her own, the both Crowe and Iris stayed close enough to help if she needed it.

Luna slid from the backseat, her feet slowly getting reacquainted with the ground, she let out a hard breath as her weight pressed down on the place where her blisters had been, where the skin was still raw. Her heels throbbed hot and angry under the boot, though the boot extended past the heel injury, and didn't seem inclined to rub that spot as the subtle shifting of the rim of her delicate dress shoes had. (Those shoes really had been one of the worst gifts the creepy Niflheim Chancellor had ever given her.)

She was surprised by the amount of pain that lanced up her legs when she tried to stand, and quickly dropped back onto the seat, hissing as she tried not to let out a yelp or a scream. Luna groped blindly behind her for her Trident, bringing it out to use as a prop to help her stand, one hand wrapped around the staff so tight her knuckles and the surrounding skin turned a dangerous, no-blood-flow-white.

Shaking, she stood. Her second hand – which had been gripping the Ekleípō's side so hard Iris though there'd be dents – came up to join the first, she stood for a long moment with her forehead resting against the Trident's cool surface as though in prayer.

The longer she stood, the less _sharp_ the pain felt. Soon enough, she was nodding to Iris and Crowe, to let them know she'd be alright.

She stepped away from the car using the Trident as a walking aid, letting Crowe shut the door behind her. Iris darted forwards, slipping under Luna's free arm and wrapping one of her own around Luna's waist. The blonde didn't protest the assistance, and knew she'd likely be asking for more before their exploration of the area was over.

* * *

 

Crowe walked ahead of the other two, not quite darting as she moved back and forth around the area. Looking for threats, or the alleged inhabitants of the area.

The group followed their noses, back a little in the direction they'd come from, just around the twisty, craggy terrain of the mountainside they'd found themselves on. They went up a little ways, turned a corner round a boulder and stopped.

There had been people there once, with greenhouses.

The buildings, stone and glass, lay in ruins.

Iris helped Luna to a small boulder where the Oracle sat, tears pricking at her eyes. Iris stayed beside her, holding one hand, both giving and taking comfort.

Crowe went exploring.

All the traces she found were years old. Whatever had happened, and she had a good idea what had happened, it happened a long time ago.

Then she found the woman in what had probably once been a beautiful garden.

The woman was wispy, barely there. If Crowe hadn't met Sabbatha, the long dead queen, she might have dismissed it as a trick of the mind.

Feeling a little uncertain, Crowe knelt beside the translucent stranger, leaning to put her face in the ghost's field of vision.

“Hey,” she said quietly, not sure if she _could_ startle the spirit.

The woman gasped, her gaze, which had been fixed on nothing, focused in on Crowe.

“Are you... do you... see me?” She sounded hopeful, the kind of hopeful of someone who dared not hope.

“I do see you, and hear you,” Crowe confirmed, “I'm Crowe.”

“Agnes,” the ghost offered with a shy smile.

“Hi Agnes,” Crowe gave her the most comforting smile she could muster, “do you know...” Crowe stopped, unsure how best to approach the topic.

Agnes seemed to know what Crowe wanted to ask though.

“It was an accident, I fell. The winter winds were more blustery than I thought,” Anges shrugged, seemingly embarrassed. “My boyfriend and I were having a fight, I came out here to stay with my brother.”

A gloom overtook the spirit, “a few weeks later, my brother turned off the lights... we were the last of our family.”

“I'm so sorry that happened to your family.”

“Thank you Crowe,” Agnes smiled, but it was full of sadness.

“Agnes,” Crowe hesitated for a moment, then ploughed onward, “do you know why you're still here?”

“I... think I might?” Agnes looked unsure. “When I fell, the ring my boyfriend gave me fell from my pocket, it got wedged in the rocks near where I fell, but my brother didn't find it, he never... my boyfriend doesn't know what happened to me. I just, I want him to know it didn't hurt, and that I want him to be happy.”

Until that moment, Crowe hadn't known ghosts could cry, but somehow, tears spilled from Agnes's eyes.

“I'm worried about him,” Agnes said with a shrug.

* * *

 

When Crowe re-joined Iris and Luna, she seemed distracted.

“Crowe?” Iris called out as the Glaive closed in, “is everything... okay?”

Crowe shrugged, unsure how to answer.

“Crowe,” Luna said with a hint of warning her voice, “there's _something_ following you!”

“Agnes,” Crowe said in response, “her name is Agnes, this place belonged to her brother. They both died several years ago.”

“Oh, another ghost,” Iris exclaimed. “Hi Agnes,” she waved in the general direction she thought the ghost might be, “sorry I can't see or hear you.”

Crowe twisted a little, like she was turning to listen to some ~~thing~~ one, then nodded.

“She says that's fine, she's used to not being seen, it's nice of you to acknowledge her.”

“I'm sorry for being rude Miss Agnes,” Luna said, nodding her head in the direction of the strange energy she'd sensed.

“... you're forgiven too,” Crowe told her after a pause, then held up her hand to stave off any questions as she listened for a moment more. “Thanks, that's really nice of you... yeah, but still, thanks. Agnes said the mint and onions from her brother's greenhouses have kind of taken over, but we're welcome to any produce we can find.”

“Oooh, Thank You!” Iris was already running through all the recipes she knew, think about what she might be able to whip up with the fresh food.

“Indeed, we're very grateful,” Luna said, “is there anything we might do for you in return?”

“Actually,” Crowe said without hesitation, “Agnes lost a ring when she died, she's asked me to find it, and give it to her boyfriend when I pass on a message. Coincidentally, he works with the hunters out of Meldacio, or he did, so we should be able to track him down.”

“Will that be safe?” Luna asked with concern, but Crowe shrugged it off.

“It should be, Agnes knows exactly where the ring is, and I might not be able to warp anymore, but thanks to Sabbatha's gift, I can still phase.”

“Ask her how she knows that,” Iris stage whispered with a tiny grin.

“The grass was slippery coming back from the Tomb of the Arcane,” Crowe said drily, “I slipped, I'm sure you can fill in the rest.”

Iris pouted at the lost chance to tease, gasping in mock offence at the smug victory in Crowe's eyes.

Luna giggled, “well, if it can be done safely, and before the light turns poor,” she pointed to the late afternoon sun.

“It should be fine,” Crowe assured her

* * *

 

Iris and Luna stayed up where it was safe, clinging to each other and gasping as they watched Crowe moved along the rocky terrain by the ocean, following a dead woman neither of them could see.

When Crowe made it to her destination, she knelt carefully, and used her knife to stab at the rocks until enough of it flaked free for her to tease the ring from the space between.

She held it up victoriously for Luna and Iris to see, and the duo gave a loud whoop of success.

They watched as Crowe pocketed the ring, re-sheathed her knife, and began making her way back.

Then they watched as she ducked out of sight for several long minutes. When she re-emerged, she was carrying her jacket wadded up, making her remaining trek more difficult.

Luna and Iris gave Crowe just enough time to get reacquainted with being on safe and solid land before demanding answers, they'd been very worried after all.

Crowe's response was to reach through the careful folding of her jacket to retrieve one of her prizes. She held it aloft for the duo to see. When they realised what it was, the pair made delighted sounds, and the group, including the mostly unseen Agnes, made their way back to the Haven.

“Cullathen Haven,” Agnes told them through Crowe, before instructing them in the best cooking method for the North Shore Muscles she'd led the Glaive to.

Most of them even turned out edible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick aside, I did some 'editing' of some screenshot/maps of Lucis, just drawing out the route the road trip takes, I don't know how to put the pictures up here, but would anyone be interested in seeing them?  
> There are a few spoilers in the 'after chapter 4' route, because of how far I've marked, and what I've chosen to mark on the maps.  
> But, yeah, let me know? I can post them on my tumblr, or try to figure out how to post them on AO3.  
> One person said yes, so here they are, beware spoilers:  
> https://alternativewinxcontinuity.tumblr.com/post/185263219410/sisterhood-the-road-so-far


	9. Midnight fight scene

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agnes has a second request of the group.  
> The Author finally attempts a fight scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also there's maps now: https://alternativewinxcontinuity.tumblr.com/post/185263219410/sisterhood-the-road-so-far

An inhuman scream woke them shortly after midnight, all three living women startling from sleep in an instant.

“Daemon,” Crowe said, the word spat from her lips like a curse.

“My brother,” Agnes whispered, curling in on herself in one corner of the tent.

“What should we do?” Iris asked at the same time, turning to Crowe in the near total darkness of their tent. Luna fumbled for the lantern, all of them wincing at the sudden brightness as the light flickered on.

“Sorry,” she said, drawing herself upright. “I've... never heard a Daemon sound like that.”

Crowe opened her mouth to advise the other two to go back to sleep, but Agnes spoke before she could.

“I think he's looking for me, he always sat in the garden with me, waiting with me through the night until morning, I...”

“Agnes,” Crowe said softly, both to draw the ghost's attention, and to let the others know who she was talking to, “are you sure that creature used to be your brother?”

“Yes, I'm certain.”

“Then it's your call, what do you want us to do? I'm a Kingsglaive, I can try to...” Crowe winced, not sure how her offer would be received.

“He's suffering,” Agnes said after a moment, “I can feel it, but I can't help him, the only thing that seemed to help was being with him in the garden but...”

“You shouldn't have to stay trapped for eternity,” Crowe reached for the ghost.

“I know,” Agnes nodded, “and I know I'm already asking so much of you but, please, free my brother from this?”

“Of course,” Crowe did her best to look comforting, giving Agnes a moment before she turned back to her living companions to relay the story.

“I shall help as well,” Luna said, squaring her shoulders. Iris on the other hand looked uncertain.

While her training was extensive, she wasn't a weapons expert like her brother, her ability with magic almost non-existent. She'd never really fought a daemon before, certainly not one as big as this sounded.

But she couldn't sit on the side lines, she'd promised to look after Luna, what kind of Shield did nothing while their charge fought.

“Yeah?” Crowe was saying to Luna, like she was preparing to argue, “stand up, how're your feet?”

Luna deflated slightly.

Crowe huffed, amused, “I might not have the same kind of... flexibility with my magic anymore, but I do have the power and training for this.” She eyed Iris and Luna, relenting slightly, “but if you really want to help, I have a plan in case I can't face this guy by myself, but I'll need you both here, ready to play back up.”

Iris straightened, 'there's something I can do?'

“Alright,” Luna said with renewed determination, “tell us what to do.”

* * *

 

The garden wasn't _far_ from the Haven, not really, but weaving around the smaller daemons, keeping herself from their attentions... well, that made the trek much longer.

Crowe wasn't really used to fighting daemons by herself, though she had faith in her abilities, she wasn't looking forward to it. That was one reason why she'd set up Luna and Iris to assist, that and both of the other women needed the experience.

The daemon in the garden screeched again, and from so close, Crowe swore she could feel it in her bones. Anger, sorrow, wrath and ruin.

She tried not to let her surprise show when she rounded the final obstacle and caught sight of the daemon.

“Hortus,” Agnes whispered her brother's name, confirming this _was_ the creature Crowe was looking for.

She didn't recognise the species though, which was _very_ concerning, and she was suddenly _so_ glad she'd readied a back-up plan.

While the majority of daemons could be sorted into various main species, (likely based on specific genetic markers triggered by the Starscourge virus – or something, Crowe wasn't a doctor, she could only guess based on what Luna had confirmed about the Scourge's relation to daemon creation –) there were occasional 'unique' daemons, or very, _very rare_ daemons.

These didn't just pose the normal problems, being ravenous omens of terror and destruction and violent death, no, unique daemons were difficult to face, because unless someone got very lucky, no-one lived long enough to both find _and_ exploit its weakness.

On the other hand, _all_ daemons were vulnerable to the 'holy' magic the Oracle's wielded.

“Agnes,” Crowe said quietly to the ghost, “we're going to have to pull him to the others.”

Agnes made a noise somewhere between confusion and objection, and Crowe sighed.

“I don't want to, but I don't know what your brother is, I've never _seen_ a daemon like him before, I'm going to need the help.”

“Alright,” Agnes said and walked forwards, into the daemon's line of sight. “Hortus! Brother, I'm here!”

The daemon let out a low groaning call, lumbering towards her. From her vantage point, Crowe wondered if all daemons could see ghosts, or if this was the result of their sibling connection.

The daemon was tall like an Iron Giant, possibly taller, but gangly, gaunt and made of bony appendages. The finer details were hard to make out, but Crowe was reminded of brittle deadwood and grasping branches. If the daemon was some kind of tree-beast type thing, fire _might_ be effective against it... or it might only look like a possessed tree-turned-lumbering-giant and be completely _immune_ to the effects of fire.

Agnes called out to Crowe, and the Glaive huffed bitterly. The daemon had stopped by the edge of the garden, trying to grab Agnes and pull her back within its boundaries.

Apparently they were going to need more bait.

* * *

 

“INCOMING!”

Crowe's voice startled Iris and Luna, the duo not expecting the Glaive to actually need back-up.

Iris helped Luna stand, making sure the Oracle had a firm grip on her Trident before she dove for the small bag of bottles Crowe had filled for her.

They were simple glass bottles found in the ruins of Agnes's home, not the specially crafted spell bottles she'd been taught to use in Insomnia, these were more like hand grenades: one use only.

Crowe's form appeared out of the dark, racing towards them, a tall, lumbering, skeletal creature following in her wake while smaller daemons tried to heckle her from the sides.

Crowe spun, releasing a wave of fire that destroyed several daemons and sent several more scampering for safety. It seemed to wash over the large daemon with no effect.

Luna focused past her pain and growing exhaustion, and her Trident lit with a brilliant light, bathing the surrounding area as if it was day. The weaker daemons turned to dust as the light hit them, but the stronger creatures merely shrieked in various levels of pain.

The large daemon, which had to be Agnes's brother, stumbled, seeming more uncomfortable than injured by the wave of magic.

With Luna's power affecting everything in the area, Crowe's magic dealt more damage, the smaller daemons being cut down with ease. One daemon managed to sneak up on the Glaive, only to find out she didn't carry her dagger for show, its blade sinking easily through the daemon's skull.

Screwing up her courage, Iris darted out, leaving the Haven's platform, she drew close to the edge of the Haven's area of effect, the one which kept daemons and beasts from getting too close to the stone.

Skirting along its edges, Iris waited until she'd gathered a decent cluster of daemons then darted back, checking Crowe's position before lobbing one of the bottles at the tiny horde.

It shattered on impact releasing an icy burst that turned all within the blast zone into ice sculptures.

Iris turned, and began gathering another cluster. As she did, she took a quick glance at Luna, brow furrowed as she maintained the steady light, and at Crowe, who was doing her best to deal damage to the Hortus-daemon while also dealing with the creatures that weren't being distracted by Iris.

* * *

 

The night slipped by, every moment bringing them closer and closer to dawn.

Iris darted back from another cluster of daemons and slipped her hand into her satchel, and froze, feet glued in place as she scrambled around until her hand closed around a bottle. Fighting panic, Iris pulled the bag open.

The bottle in her hand was the last, after this, all she'd be able to do would be pull the daemons' attention.

She looked over to Crowe, who was still fighting the tall daemon. Scorch marks littered its thin limbs, but it showed barely any signs of damage in the way it moved.

From the distance and the angle Iris stood, she noticed the Hortus-daemon seemed to be shrugging. She didn't know why that struck her, but she'd thought its neck had been longer when it had first appeared.

She was still looking when Crowe pulled a lightning bolt across the sky, slamming the daemon's large deer-skull-like face to the side so hard its branch-like antlers rattled. If it hadn't been so bright from Luna's spell, Iris might have been blinded by the streak of lightning.

But she wasn't, instead she saw the dark gap beneath the daemon's chin, which it jerked its head back in place to hide from Luna's light.

While all of the creature's limbs were like thin branches, it's feet and hands like mangroves roots, the daemon had two body parts that didn't look like they'd been snapped off trees and bound together by toxic vines.

The skull-like head, and the barrel like chest.

Iris felt a mad idea come to her, and before she had the chance to think twice, she was securing the last spell bottle in her bag, and racing for the daemon.

“Crowe! Swap jobs!”

Crowe had only a second to be startled before the young Amicitia went hurtling past her, leaping onto the daemon's leg and climbing up it like it _wasn't_ attached to the Scourge infected body of a very angry ghost.

Crowe swore and refocused her efforts on the small fry, no longer able to hit the daemon that had once been Hortus, for fear of hitting Iris.

Crowe wasn't able to watch the girl's climb, too focused on the smaller threats to do more than stay aware of where the daemon was.

Luna on the other hand was able to spare enough attention to watch for a moment.

When the daemon took a swipe at Iris as she neared its knee, Luna gasped, almost loosing focus on her spell. She knew she was running out of energy, and she couldn't afford to drop the spell, not with the swarm so thick and close to her companions, and certainly not with Hortus right there.

In her distraction, Luna had missed it, but as the daemon had tried to swat Iris from its leg, she had leapt, shoving herself from the daemon's leg, to its arm, just above its hand.

As she'd hoped, it raised its arm up near its head, trying to swipe at her with its other hand.

But Iris was already making the jump, landing awkwardly on the daemon's face, she slid around to the side, grabbing at the base of its closest antler.

She had to swing on it, lifting her body out of the way of seeking hands, before she could lower herself down, keeping her grip on the antler as she settled her feet on its shoulder.

With all the strength she possessed, Iris pushed, using her body as a jack to try and push the daemon's head up or to the side, enough to open a gap.

It worked, a gap appearing where the neck should have been, revealing the hollow darkness inside the daemon's chest cavity.

Trying not to lose her grip or leverage, Iris fumbled for the spell bottle. She had no idea what spell was held inside it, but at this point, she was out of options.

As best she could, she aimed the bottle and released it. It fell the short distance into the gap, where it wedged itself, unable to pass through the slightly-too-narrow opening.

Iris swore, using several of the words her ~~father and~~ brother didn't know that she knew.

'Well, it's half in,' Iris thought, and jumped, using the sudden shift in her weight to pull the daemon's head back down, shattering the bottle.

The world was full of prickling pain and noise and Iris was _flying_.

She felt the air wrap around her, cushioning her before she could hit the ground full force, but that only lasted a second before she dropped onto something thankfully squishy...

'FLAN!' Iris tried to struggle free of the squishy daemon, but its very body seemed to be sucking her in. Suddenly, there was a growl, and something latched onto her shirt collar, pulling her free as a black and green blur began lunging at the flan from another direction, tacking swipes and chunks.

Free of the daemon's ooze, Iris scrambled back to her feet.

“Good girl Pryna,” she gave her saviour a pat and booked it for the safety of the Haven, Pryna and Umbra abandoning the flan to follow her.

As Iris hit the Haven's safety perimeter, hopping over what remained of Hortus-daemon's dissolving form, Crowe left the milling daemons and darted to her side.

“Flan?” Crowe asked at the small amount of slime on Iris's clothes and skin, the girl nodded, unsure whether the faint burning she felt was from the flan or the spell that had exploded right next to her.

When they got to the base of the Haven's stone platform, Crowe told her to “hold still a second, close your eyes and hold your breath.” As soon as Iris did as she was told, she was surrounded by a swirl of water, the burning on her skin lessening.

Once the water dropped, Crowe gave her the bad news.

“We have some stuff in the kit for flan burn, but the clothes are... probably a lost cause.”

Iris's groan was cut off as Luna's spell failed, and the blonde fainted. Despite the momentary blindness caused by the loss of light, both Crowe and Iris scrambled up onto the Haven.

In the firelight, they managed to check her over, though Iris kept far enough back that she wouldn't risk transferring any remaining flan ooze to Luna.

“Stasis,” Crowe said after a moment, “she'll be fine.” The duo took a moment to be relieved before the Glaive turned to the dogs who now sat by Luna's head.

“And where have you two been?”

Neither Pryna nor Umbra answered.

* * *

 

Once Luna was put back to bed, such as it was, Crowe made sure Iris treated her injuries before giving the girl a short dressing down.

“What you did was reckless, and foolish, and could have gotten you killed.” Crowe said, trying to keep any trace of anger from her voice, “you did an amazing job out there, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't so _incredibly_ dangerous.”

“I know,” Iris said quietly, head bowed. “I know I should have told you my plan, but I was just...”

“Caught up in the moment and sure of your own abilities?”

Iris looked up at Crowe, startled.

The older woman nodded, “yeah, I know what it's like. Objectively, from a distance, it's easy to say _should_ have, _could_ have, but really what I'm angriest about, is that I wasn't able to stop that situation from happening, that you were put in that position in the first place. I know you have training, I know your family has a history, but I'm the senior officer here... kind of.”

“I understand,” Iris said solemnly, and she did understand. Iris might have assumed responsibility for Luna, but Crowe had assumed responsibility for Luna _and_ Iris.

“Alright,” Crowe nodded, a small smile on her face, “'be more careful next time', and other such things that will probably have to be thrown out the window the next time things don't go to plan.”

Iris giggled, her gaze travelling out into the dark, and a thought occurred to her.

“Sorry I had to use up all the bottles by the way.”

“Nah, better you use 'em than be dead.”

Iris nodded as she took in Crowe's wisdom, “still, it's lucky that you picked them up while we were exploring the garden earlier... why did you pick them up?”

Crowe shrugged, “there's actually a small market for pretty glass bottles, I thought we might be able to sell them down the road. Just because we're travelling with the Oracle, doesn't mean we'll get a free ride everywhere, people out here still need to make a living.”

“That's true, are there any other things that we could pick up? I'll help you keep an eye- OH! Oh, no, never mind.”

Iris's sudden tangent had Crowe raising an eyebrow in query, but the girl shook her head. Crowe reached out and poked Iris in the cheek.

“No, go on, what?”

“Um, well, I just realised, we could have used Ekleípō's head lights to help fight the daemons, but _then_ I realised that would have just drained the battery, and we'd be stuck out her _forever_.” Iris's horror at being stuck on the Northern Shore of Lucis was interrupted by a giant yawn. Crowe had to stifle a laugh.

“Alright, bed time,” she nudged the girl in the direction of the tent. Iris went without argument, but Crowe waited for a moment. “Agnes?”

“Right here,” the ghost said, stepping into Crowe's field of vision. “Thank you, my brother is free from his torment. He'll be waiting for me in the other side.”

“Good, I'm glad,” Crowe's smile was interrupted by a yawn of her own, and Agnes laughed.

“What was it you said?” The ghost teased, “bed time?”

“I'm going,” Crowe said with a snort, and headed into the tent where she had to manoeuvre into her sleeping bag with the added obstacles of two sprawling dogs as well as the two young women already asleep.

* * *

 

The group slept soundly, not waking until the sun was high in the sky. They ate a cold lunch and went back to bed until dawn the following day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am late again, but in my defence, I have had a really crumby week so I didn't want to tackle a chapter I was so nervous about until I was in a better head space. Hopefully this turned out alright?  
> I once asked a professional published author what their advice was for writing fight scenes. Their response? Do your research on the weapons and stuff that's used.  
> Literally not what I'd been asking (like I didn't already have so much information of weapons and tactics and stuff), so I have no idea if this I coherent enough, or if the flow is too janky, or if the scene is to bogged down in details, or not detailed enough, or what.


	10. Laundry Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group takes another day to recover, find some treasure, and Iris receives a gift.

“I... feel like garbage,” Luna said as she stared at the Haven's surface. Despite having slept through the night – and most of the day before – she felt tired and worn out, the Blessing of the Haven she'd finally gotten around to hitting her harder than she'd expected.

“Yeah, you hit Stasis pretty hard,” Crowe said, and wiped a lock of hair from her face before cringing, “also we haven't exactly showered properly since Prendle.”

“We should bathe,” Iris said morosely, wanting to curl back up in her sleeping bag. '… Maybe I should wash that as well.'

“Hm?” Crowe looked to the side of the camp-stove where she was trying to salvage the last of their bread with an egg wash, courtesy of the bird beast nest she'd found while exploring the area.

“So Agnes says there's an intact pump, back near the house, that _might_ still work if you two don't mind cold water...” Crowe trailed off, then almost to herself said, “though I could heat the water with my fire magic.”

“I'm game,” Iris said, looking to Luna, who was nodding, almost desperately.

“ _Please_ ,” the Oracle all but begged, “ _hygiene_! I need it,” her gaze turned pleading, and Crowe and Iris both snorted. The more time they spent around her, the less _untouchable_ and _divine_ Luna became, the more _human_ they realised she was.

“Hell yeah for bathing,” Iris cheered, “um, actually...” the older women looked at her, curious. “If Luna's not feeling that well, could we stay here until tomorrow, I kind of want to do some washing, and we could see if there's anything else worth harvesting from the garden... and I'm really sick of being in a car all day.” Iris curled in on herself, reluctant to admit to the weakness.

“Seconded!” Luna said, so loud it was almost a shout.

“Thirded,” Crowe said straight after, “motion passed, we leave tomorrow.”

* * *

“Cold! Cold! Cold!” Iris cringed away from the water that sloshed out of the pump.

“I'll fix it in a minute,” Crowe said, working the pump, “just get the tub under it already.”

“Oh, right,” Iris manoeuvred the large wash tub they'd found under the stream. “Sorry,” she added as the tub began to fill.

Crowe shook her head, dismissing the issue.

“It's really that cold?” Luna asked, gingerly stepping closer. Iris nodded, then motioned for Luna to hold her arm out. When the blonde complied, Iris splashed a small amount of the stream at Luna's arm. The resulting squeak of surprise had Crowe laughing while Iris disguised a snigger. Luna's pout hid a giggle of her own.

* * *

After their wash, the trio ambled through the garden, letting their hair dry in the somewhat protected area before they ventured back into the windier parts of the mountainside.

Luna felt that she enjoyed the slow walk the most of the threesome, having gone a little stir crazy from not being allowed to walk for so long, and _then_ being in pain while she walked. Her feet were finally beginning to feel better, and she had to admit that the days off her feet _had_ helped speed the process, but still, being able to walk at her own leisure again was liberating in a way she couldn't explain.

Not to people who hadn't had their freedoms taken from them, who hadn't been prisoners in their own home, held hostage by their own family.

For a second she was struck by the memory of Ravus in the throne room, his arm ablaze.

'Did he survive?' Luna wondered, 'is he out there somewhere, looking for me?' She sighed heavily, her eyes sinking down...

Something caught her gaze from beneath a sparse shrub.

“Hm?” Her curious noise caught the attention of the other two, who turned in time to see her amble over to the shrub for a better line of sight. As she got a clear look at the object of her investigation, spread out on the other side of what was actually a hedge lining a grow box, Luna gasped in delight.

“ _Strawberries!_ ”

* * *

The trio didn't know which Astral had smiled on them, for strawberries were notoriously fragile crops, but the plants in the garden (returned to their 'wild roots') had not only survived untended, but _thrived_ well enough that the women managed to pick a sizeable haul.

Sizeable enough to gorge themselves, and still have several handfuls to take with them. Until Pryna stole the jacket wrapped berries, grabbing the bundle by the carefully knotted sleeves and hem, she took off running.

Iris was about to race after the dog when Umbra appeared before her, sitting down in her way and barking once.

“I- what?” Iris looked to the others, who seemed just as confused by the theft of their left over treats. “Is, uh... Luna?”

Luna shook her head, “I have no idea,” she admitted.

“Could, I mean, could it be... part of her... ' _plan_ '?” Crowe asked, brow furrowed as she tried to figure out how stolen strawberries could _possibly_ help them save the world.

The trio shared a series of looks, but none of them could come with a better explanation for the theft, even though none of them could come up with _any_ explanation for how or why strawberries could be useful to the ' _plan_ '.

* * *

Before sunset, Crowe and Iris topped up the car's fuel tank.

“We're around the half way point,” Iris said as she pulled out the map to check.

Luna noticed a hint of concern in the girl's voice.

“Is there a problem?” the blonde asked from the passenger seat, where she was watching the maintenance from.

“Nah,” Crowe said dismissively, “as long as there's no unexpected driving detours, of any _serious_ length. We're just getting close to 40 percent of the way through our fuel supply. We should have enough to get us to Meldacio, with a decent margin for error, even with the recalculations.”

“Recal... huh?” Luna titled her head, confused.

“When we topped up at Prendle,” Iris began, “we were expecting a better margin of error, but we failed to account for how many Astrals damned _potholes_ would be on the road.”

“We've been going slower in some places because we spend so much time swerving, and _that's_ been adding small distances to each kilometre of road we travel, it's starting to add up.” Crowe took over the explanation, “we should be fine, but with this kind of thing, it's best to assume worst case scenario. Which, realistically _and_ barring any Divine Wrath, isn't all that terrible.”

Luna made a noise of understanding and nodded. She was learning so much she hadn't even known she didn't know before. All of her travel arrangements, such as they were, were usually made for her, and she'd never had to think about having enough of anything to get her where she was going.

Thinking back to her attempted escape from Tenebrae before the 'signing', she mentally winced, already seeing a few things that could have ended... not as well as expected for her. Luna would like to believe she would have been fine, but she could see how lucky she was to have Crowe and Iris with her now.

Perhaps the good will of the people _would_ have seen her through to Insomnia, and through the duty she now faced.

As Crowe and Iris repacked the car, Luna made a mental note to lavish Pryna with ear scratches and belly rubs.

* * *

“-so once we get through this tunnel, it'll be a clear shot of road until we hit the mountain at the end, right before Meldacio.” Crowe said as she traced along their path on the map. “I'll be happy to take over driving for a while if you need me to,” she said to Iris, then turned to Luna, “and I know you want to try driving, but given the state of the road out here, I stand by our earlier agreement, we'll wait until we get back into Cleigne, where the roads are maintained, alright?”

“Alright,” Luna nodded, not hiding her disappointment.

Iris giggled at the blonde before turning to Crowe, “a break from driving would be good once we get to the other side of this tunnel.”

* * *

In the early morning light, Luna laughed as Pryna and Umbra vaulted into the Ekleípō, to join her in the back seat.

“Alright,” Iris said from the driver's seat with mock seriousness, “but I better not find fur everywhere.”

Pryna and Umbra gave soft barks of agreement, and the three woman chuckled. Moments later they were on their way. Their destination for the day was a Haven on the other side of the tunnel. Doing their best to account for the pothole, collapsed tunnel debris and distance, Crowe was sure they'd make it with time to spare before sunset.

They'd left as early as possible anyway.

As the ocean breeze found them, speeding along the long abandoned road, Crowe wondered where Agnes had gone. The ghost said she would be able to follow her ring, but wouldn't be able to interact with the car well enough to ride along rather than being dragged along, so she'd told Crowe she would catch up once they reached Meldacio.

It was for the best, Crowe realised as she saw Pryna stick her head over the door in the side mirror, tongue lolling in the wind. There wouldn't have been enough space unless Agnes wanted to perch on the top of the back seat where the roof hid when not in use.

“Uh, hey Crowe?” Iris asked not long into their drive.

“Hm? Yeah?” Crowe turned her attention to Iris.

“Um, so, your... phone?”

“Your battery already dead?” Crowe asked, amused.

Iris winced sheepishly, but didn't deny it.

“I forgot to turn it _off_ ,” she giggled lightly at her own foolishness. Crowe huffed a laugh and opened the glove box, rummaging around until she found her own phone. It had last been charged at Prendle, then turned off and shoved in the small compartment when she realised they were in a no-reception area.

Luna leaned forward, curious, accidentally dislodging Umbra from her lap. Crowe's phone took a few seconds to start back up, and Iris slowed the car down to almost a stop when Crowe finally tilted the screen to show the driver the _severe_ lack of reception.

Like the Three Valleys area in Leide, the Northern Shore _wasn't_ a good area for reception on a _normal_ day, lacking any still functioning towers. With Insomnia gone, the main hub of the cell phone network was also lost, which meant the sparse cell towers scattered through out Lucis, and the back up hub in Lestallum, were all that were keeping the network going.

It also meant things like mountain ranges, such as the one between them and the rest of Lucis, would be causing a lot more problems for communication.

They'd already known their phones wouldn't have much of a chance at getting a message out, but Iris sighed in defeat anyway and sped back up. Crowe turned her phone off and tucked it back into the glove box.

“Sorry,” Crowe said, knowing what Iris was thinking.

Iris shook her head, “nah, I already knew I wouldn't be able to contact Gladdy until Meldacio, I just, got a little bummed when my phone died. I'm... worried about him,” she confessed quietly, her words quickly carried off in the wind, but not quickly enough to go unheard.

“If you want,” Luna offered, leaning forward far enough to get her head in line with the other women, “Umbra can carry messages to Noctis, I was planning on sending him soon with a message to let Noctis know I'm alive, you can send him a message to pass along to your brother.”

“Oh man, really?” Iris glanced at Luna, smiling, even as she had to turn her eyes back to the road to look for obstacles. “Gladdy should be with Noct, so that would work out perfectly!”

“Alright, next stop, well set it up,” Luna promised.

The sun rose higher and the group got closer to the tunnel. Suddenly, as they drew close enough to the tunnel to easily make out the entrance, Pryna barked, leaving her scenery watching to turn to her brother.

Umbra barked back, seeming to agree with whatever command or suggestion Pryna had given. Both dogs rose and steadied themselves on Ekleípō's doors, looking like they were preparing to leap from the vehicle. At Luna's wordless cry of concern, Iris glanced at the rear view mirror, then turned quickly to make sure she was seeing what she thought she was seeing, and slowed down.

The two messengers waited until the car was at a slow crawl before they jumped, touching down on the old asphalt on either side of the car.

“Pryna? Umbra?” Luna slide to the door which Pryna had leapt from, and leaned over slightly, just in time to see Pryna trotting slightly faster than the car, and gaining speed.

“Oh,” Iris said with a touch of familiarity, as the dogs over took the car and began running ahead of it. “I know _this_ trick, Pryna has something to show us.” The girl increased speed as the dogs did, doing her best to stay close as Pryna and Umbra pulled ahead to lead the way.

They slipped into the tunnel and the car entered after them. In the headlights, Pryna's pale fur and Umbra's scarf caught the light, and made it easy for Iris to track them through the crumbling road and fallen pieces of ceiling.

Not far into the tunnel, barely a quarter of the way, if Iris had to guess, the dogs began to slow. Iris dropped her speed to match, so she had plenty of time to realise what the dogs wanted her to do. She followed them into the slip lane and turned into a two-lane side tunnel, moments later they were slowing to a halt as a boom gate barred their way. Pryna marched up to the long broken control box and _barked_ at it.

Something in her bark carried the touch of magic, and for a few seconds, the boom gates on both sides of the road sparked to life, jolting and twitching and grinding as they swung out of the way to allow passage to whatever was further along.

Warily, Iris put her foot back on the accelerator and followed as Pryna and Umbra took off again.

“There's a light,” Crowe said over the sound of the engine, and pointed ahead of them. The road curved, but just beyond the curve, there was indeed light. Moments later, they left the tunnel, and found themselves pulling into another derelict picnic area, a Haven tucked away to the side.

Iris pulled the car in what seemed to be the somewhat overgrown parking area, and the trio got out of the car.

“This... wasn't on the map...” Crowe said as she pulled the map out, furiously double checking.

“It is roughly the half way point of today's trip though,” Luna said slowly, looking around, “and it might be a little early for lunch, but stopping here instead of just after the tunnel works well.”

“That's true,” Iris agreed, frowning, “but somehow I don't think that's the _only_ thing these two had in mind.”

Pryna opened her mouth and let her tongue loll out in a doggy grin, her tail wagging slightly.

“So I guess the question is,” Iris added, “lunch first, or quest first?”

Crowe's stomach chose that moment to make a sound, and the Glaive stared to dogs down, “we're doing lunch first.”

Pryna 'arf'ed in agreement, and trotted off in the direction of the Haven, Umbra close behind sniffing at the tall grasses that sprouted here and there. Luna reached into the car and grabbed the small chiller bag they'd packed for lunch at the previous Haven, Cullathen.

They didn't bother with chairs, winding their way through the grass to the Haven, they perched themselves along its edge, feet dangling in the air as they ate their muesli and nut bars.

“You're walking more easily today,” Crowe said, gesturing to Luna's feet with her half eaten bar.

“Mm, getting better everyday,” the blonde replied cheerfully.

“So,” Iris said after washing down her bar, “why do you think this area was barred off, 'cause that's weird right? For a Haven to be barred like that?”

“Yes,” Luna said, curiosity and agreement in her voice, “that did seem a bit odd.”

Crowe shrugged before admitting: “beats me, I've never heard of anything like that before, Havens are vital to the survival of travellers, as far as I know, there shouldn't be any reason to pull that kind of thing.”

“I mean,” Iris said, “the bars weren't heavy duty or anything, even a little car probably could have rammed right through them, it was more like...”

“Discouragement?” Luna offered.

“Yeah, like someone frowning passive-aggressively rather than saying 'stay out',” Iris nodded.

“Maybe it has to do with whatever Pryna and Umbra brought us here for,” Crowe said looking around for the dogs, “maybe it had nothing to do with the Haven.”

A happy bark came from behind them, and Pryna trotted up to Crowe, snuffling at the woman's pouch where her knife was secured.

“Hey,” Crowe pushed the messenger away with one hand, but that only made Pryna sit and begin patting at Crowe's hand with one paw. Crowe pulled her hand away, the glint of the Rings of the Arcane catching her eye. The Glaive stilled, recalling what _else_ was currently in her pouch.

Pryna padded over to Iris and gave a soft 'arf'. Crowe grinned, and the other two young women shared a confused look.

“What did you just figure out?” Iris asked.

“I think I know why we're here,” Crowe said, pulling out the Tomb Key Pryna had brought them the morning after Insomnia had burned, “and I think this one's for you.”

Pryna grinned again, tail wagging. It took a few seconds for Iris to catch up, shock and delight crossing her face when she did.

“But, I'm a martial fighter, I'm not a weapons... what could... who would...”

“I'm... not sure I follow,” Luna admitted, looking back and forth between them.

“Do you feel up for a walk?” Crowe asked her, and Luna nodded, “then we'll explain on the way.”

* * *

The walk was much shorter, and there were less boulders sticking out then there had been on their way to the Tomb of the Arcane, and _far_ less rain. The mountain breeze kept the sun from getting too hot on them as they followed the dogs along what had clearly once been a smoothly paved road, Luna's Trident tapping dully against the stones still there beneath the grass as she made her way carefully over the uneven ground.

The group followed along a twist in the path and suddenly there it was, grasses and shrubs trying to bury it from all sides, the tomb stood firm against the weather's best efforts. Crowe handed Iris the key as they approached, and the duo began moving the small shrubs out of the door. They didn't bother with all of them, just enough to get past.

Iris slid the key into the lock, tension in every fibre of her being. The key met only mild resistance, and seconds later the lock clicked open. Iris handed the key back to Crowe, switched on her light, and pushed the door open.

One by one the women filed in, Pryna trotting past them to circle the dais in the middle where the former king lay, something glinting along their arms.

'Former queen,' Iris mentally corrected, the swell, and dip and curve of the statue making claims of the royal's gender. The tomb was very similar to the Arcane's, though Iris thought there might have been a _slightly_ different pattern in the architraves, she couldn't be certain.

Pryna popped up on the far side of the statue and _barked_ as she had before, Umbra making a quiet grumble from his place by the door. A few seconds later, Crowe bowed formally and, recalling Crowe's explanation of the last tomb, both Iris and Luna mimicked her, showing respect to a queen they couldn't see.

“'Who stands before Gwenhwyfar, the Primal'” Crowe said, stumbling over the name as she relayed the words of the unseen, ghostly queen. Crowe gave Iris a soft pat on the back and the girl stepped forwards, hoping she was looking in roughly the right place.

“I am Iris of House Amicitia, daughter of the bloodline of the Shields,” she stood as tall as possible.

“'Is that so,'” Crowe continued to relay, “'well then, tell me little flower, whom do you protect?'”

Iris hesitated for a second, unsure how to answer.

“I protect the Oracle Lunafreya, future wife of our king Noctis,” Iris hesitated, uncertain as to whether or not she should add the last part. Was it hubris? “I protect her to protect all of our people, to protect the hope of our future, and to protect Noct's heart.”

Unseen to Luna and Iris, Gwenhwyfar gasped, holding her hands to her chest.

“Holy Astrals,” the ghost queen said to Crowe, “she's so _precious_ , she's just, the _most_ precious!” the queen fanned at her face like she was trying to dry her tears and stop herself from crying. “I love this child!”

“The Primal queen approves,” Crowe paraphrased.

Gwenhwyfar laughed, “sorry, she just... reminds me of my shield, that poor man...” For a long moment the queen got a far off look in her eyes, then she jolted back to the present, shaking her head to clear whatever memory had descended upon her. “Anyway, tell her this, and make it exact.”

Crowe nodded, and begun passing the message along.

“'The power I will grant you, is the strength of my Vambrace, but be _cautious_ , for they grow in strength by taking from the enemies you slay. It is a wild power, and you may find yourself lost to it. Hold your convictions close, try to always be certain of your path, be true to yourself.'”

When Iris nodded, and promised to do her best, Crowe relayed the instructions for Iris to remove her bracelets and hold up her arms parallel to each other with her fists loosely clenched and fingers towards her face.

Iris complied, raising her arms so that she looked like a boxer with a terrible stance guarding her face.

Unseen, Gwenhwyfar bumped her arms against Iris's, elbow to knuckles.

Iris gasped as the metal and cloth Vambrace which adorned the statue she _could_ see, began glowing with a familiar blue energy. They moved like Noctis warped, there and then elsewhere between one blink and the next, only a faint trail of blue light to suggest the path taken.

The spill of magic through her body was _familiar_ and yet _not_.

Iris was so taken with her new Vambrace, (examining the fingerless cloth 'under gloves', and the plating that ran from her elbows, along the backs of her forearms to the backs of her hands,) that she didn't realise at first that something had changed.

She looked up to thank the space where she thought the queen would be, only to find the queen there, smiling at her in amusement, face propped on her fist as she'd watched Iris learn the shape of the armour.

“So cute,” the queen told her earnestly, “the Messenger told me you were a hand-to-hand fighter, like me, I hope those serve you well... actually:” the queen leaned back, stretching her legs out until she could tap Iris's lower legs with her feet.

Another flash of blue light, and Iris looked down.

Greaves covered her lower legs, and partial sollerets covered the tops and heels of her feet.

“Only the Vambrace are my Royal Arm, but I figured it wouldn't be fair to leave you unable to kick.”

“Thank you your highness!” Iris bowed deeply, formally, trying to suppress her excitement.

“You, are _so_ welcome,” Gwenhwyfar looked away for a second, like she was seeing something far off, outside of their perception. When her attention returned, she pouted. “I have to go, but good luck, to all of you.”

“Thank you your highness,” Iris said again, then hesitated, “oh wait!”

“Yes?” The queen asked with a tilt of her head, looking glad for the excuse to stay.

“Um, sorry,” Iris flushed with embarrassment, “I was just wondering, I'm sorry I don't really remember you from my studies...” Gwenhwyfar shrugged and waved it off.

“Don't worry about it, I'm... pretty old. Feel free to ask what ever it is you wanted to ask.”

“Thanks, I was just wondering, like, I can imagine why queen Sabbatha was the Arcane,” Crowe held up her hands to show off the Rings, as Iris spoke, “since she seemed to focus on magic, but... why are you 'the Primal'?”

Gwenhwyfar grinned, and it was a dangerous and gleeful thing, “I'm the _queen_ ,” she said. “They could hardly get away with calling me 'that feral bitch.'” With a laugh and a saucy wink, the queen vanished.

“Oh!” Iris and Crowe exchanged surprised looks, before Iris pouted. “I had another question,” she said, trying not to whine.

“Is it about why you could suddenly see her majesty?” Crowe asked, and Iris nodded. “Yeah, sorry I didn't warn you, she said that was a possibility. Because of the way the queen's power was transferred, you two shared a temporary bond. I don't know if you'd be able to see other spirits, even other past royals.”

“Yeah,” Iris said, nodding, “that sounds like a load of words smooshed together, pretending to be an explanation.”

“It's what we've got,” Crowe said with a 'what are you going to do?' shrug.

“Is it over?” Luna asked, still standing where she'd been when the queen had first appeared, having waited quietly, not wanting to interrupt a queen she couldn't hear.

“Yep,” Iris bounced over to show off her new accoutrements.

* * *

As the group descended to the parking area, Crowe asked Luna what she wanted to do.

“What do you mean?” The blonde asked, glancing at Crowe.

“Well, we have a Haven, do you want to do your Blessing thing, or should we get straight back on the road? And if you do do your Blessing thing, do you want to spend the night here, or do you think you'll have enough energy for the tunnel, because it looks like we'll still have enough light left to make it to the next Haven if you want to try.”

“Hmmm, let me think about it, and I'll let you know by the time we reach the car?” Luna asked.

“Sure,” Crowe agreed.

Several minutes later, when they reached the parking area, Pryna and Umbra changed course, heading for the Haven. They stopped to look at the women, and Umbra gave a soft 'are you coming' type bark.

“Well, it looks like the messengers have a preference,” Crowe said.

Luna nodded, sighed, and made her way over to the Haven.

“Oh, Iris!” Luna had a sudden thought.

“Yeah?” The girl asked.

“While I'm doing this, why don't you write a message for your brother?”

“Oh, that's a great idea, I forgot we were going to...” Iris tapped her lips with a finger, “I wonder if we have anything to write with in the car.”

“We should,” said Crowe, “you've got the car keys, why don't you go take a look?”

“Right!” Iris took off across the grassy parking lot while Luna settled into her Blessing. With a sigh, Crowe took a seat on the stone beside her.

They could figure out their next step when Luna was finished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit the save without posting button and not realise for several days? Pft. No? *edges out of the room suspiciously*  
> At this rate I might as well just go ahead and change the update day...
> 
> So the new queen is a reference to a non-FF character, I was going to just have her be a Tifa stand in, but that felt just a little too 'on the nose' as the saying goes.


End file.
